Overholding tenant, legal steps to achieve order for posession?

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murphaph

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.....when the overholding tenant and the landlord have come to an agreement that the tenant can stay (based on paying back rent, legal fees etc.).

Long running dispute with a commercial tenant. We obviously have a solicitor but I didn't get to speak with him today before he left for a short break and I'm wondering do any of the solicitors here have any idea how the following will be resolved;

Tenant has been overholding since leas expired in 2007. Tenant will have business equity in jan 2010 so plenty of time to get valid notice to quit served etc. We have told the tenant we are happy to just get him evicted and let to a competitor as we have a good offer for rent from 2 companies. The tenant is now indicating that he will pay all back rent and match offer of rent from competitors. He says he will allow whatever legal proceedings we need to take to go unopposed to speed things up and keep our costs down.

Now, given that we MUST ensure no business equity is established and we are prepared to sign a new lease and the tenant understands we are not going to allow an extension of the existing expired lease, how will we legally ensure the existing tenancy is over? We were on the path to serve ejectment proceedings against the tenant and get an order for posession. Is there a "fast track" way to ensure the current lease is deemed over and a new lease in force or do we have to go through the district and circuit courts as if the tenant defended the proceedings? Is there a legal mechanism for the tenant to sign something to accept that the existing lease and tenancy is terminated and to allow him to stay on without establishing a business equity in january?

Am I making sense? My solicitor intimated that there was such a fast track method when the tenant agrees not to defend the proceedings but didn't go into detail. It will be done between our solicitor and his, just wondering about the mechanism?
 
Talk to your solicitor. The stakes are too high and the area too technical for anyone to advise you without having all the details from the file.

Though on a non-legal point, do you really want to put faith in a tenant who has treated you as this one has?
 
Thanks lawdable. I'm not looking for online legal advice per se and this will be handled by our solicitor until it's resolved. I'm just curious about the mechanism he alluded to really. Any ideas what he might be thinking about?

On the non-legal point: You are correct in a way but so long as we can satisfy ourselves that an amicable settlement can be made, we are prepared to wipe the slate clean and go for a new 4 yr 9 mo lease.
 
Thanks Stifster. Is this a "tried and tested" solution? What I mean is, are we 'safe' if he signs this or is there any wriggle room from his side with this approach? It is imperitive that no business equity is established here.
 
The dates? 2yr9m lease signed in jan 2005, business equity established in jan 2010.

Ah, so if that's what my solicitor is talking about (using the civil law act 2008) I'm not convinced. That's a brand new law which can't have been tested (and probably won't be until 2013ish). I don't fancy being the test case. Will probably go all the way for ejectment/posession order and then use that provision on a new 4yr9m lease.
 
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