Rental problems? Ask a legal expert!

Questioner

We are a company with a shop in shop agreement for a year. Now we want to get rid of it in the meantime. We also want to look for a new tenant (as being in the replacement or a new contract) we want to put this out via broker, websites etc. as retail space for rent. We are not allowed to approach the broker of those from whom we rent (they rent from the broker), they themselves make little effort to come to a good financial solution (which we did put in the agreement if things did not go well in the meantime) and we are not allowed to give much publicity to it. This does not seem right to us, we thought we were allowed to look for a new tenant. If they were not allowed to rent it out, do we still have a strong position to get out of the contract/other tips welcome?

Lawyer

If this is not stipulated in the lease, you may simply approach the agent. And you are also free to find a new tenant, you cannot be prohibited from doing so. If it turns out that your landlord was not allowed to rent, and the main landlord (the estate agent) makes a problem of it, this can indeed strengthen your position. However, this does not have to prevent you from looking for a new tenant; what happens between the main landlord (the estate agent) and your landlord (the sub-landlord) is in principle of no importance to you.

Lawyer

The substitution is regulated by law and can be enforced through a court if there are no risks or other real interests of the landlord that stand in the way. Furthermore, the main rule is indeed: start by first taking a very careful look at what relevant matters are stated in the rental agreement.