Ask The Experts - Notional Rent Appeal

Published:02/11/2007

Question

My partner and I each own 50 per cent of the surgery. I receive a two-thirds profit share and she gets one-third. The triennial notional rent review took place recently and we were not happy with the outcome. We appealed and the annual notional rent was increased by nearly £5,000. We employed a surveyor to handle the appeal and the fee for this was £3,500. Should we both pay 50 per cent as the landlords or should the cost be split between us according to the profit-sharing ratio?

Answer

The practice (consisting of you and your partner) is the tenant while the landlords are also you and your partner. The rent is a payment that clearly goes to the landlord and should be regarded as an expense paid by the tenant. There is no benefit for a tenant in getting a rent increase, so on the basis that any notional rent will now be split on a 50/50 basis between the two of you, it is clear that as the landlords you should each pay half of the appeal's cost.