Transferring a business lease can look like one part of a wider business deal. You may be selling your business, bringing in a new tenant or moving responsibility for the premises to someone else.
The question is often who should deal with it. Do you ask your accountant because they already understand your business finances? Or do you need a solicitor because the lease is a legal document?
There is also another concern. You do not want the lease transfer to hold up the wider transaction. But moving too quickly without checking the legal position can create problems after the transfer.
By the end of this article, you will understand what a solicitor does during a business lease transfer, where an accountant may help, and the main problems to check before you commit.
In This Article
Key takeaways
- A business lease transfer is usually a legal assignment of the existing lease.
- Your accountant can advise on financial and tax matters, but does not replace the solicitor handling the legal transfer.
- Your lease needs checking before you assume it can be transferred.
- Landlord consent may be required before the assignment can complete.
- The outgoing tenant may still have responsibilities after the transfer in some cases.
In this article
- Why your accountant cannot usually deal with the lease transfer alone
- What happens if you do not check the business lease first
- Why landlord consent can become a problem
- Why the lease and business sale need to move together
- Why you may still have responsibilities after transferring the lease
- How to manage a business lease transfer properly
- Frequently asked questions
Why your accountant cannot usually deal with the lease transfer alone
Your accountant may already know a great deal about your business. That does not mean they can replace the solicitor dealing with your lease.
A business lease transfer is generally known as an assignment. GOV.UK explains that whether you can pass a commercial property lease to another party depends on the terms of the lease. Landlord permission will also be required in many cases.
A solicitor deals with the legal side of that process.
Depending on the circumstances, this can include:
- checking whether the lease permits assignment
- reviewing the conditions attached to a transfer
- dealing with the landlord or the landlord’s solicitor
- reviewing or preparing the licence to assign
- dealing with the deed that transfers the lease
- advising on guarantees or rent deposit arrangements
Your accountant has a different role.
For example, if the lease transfer forms part of selling your business, you may need accounting or tax advice about the financial consequences of the transaction. GOV.UK specifically directs business owners to accountants or tax advisers for help with Capital Gains Tax matters.
So this is usually not an either-or decision.
You may need an accountant for the financial position and a solicitor for the legal transfer.
The practical point is simple: do not assume that because your accountant is advising on the sale, the business lease will automatically be dealt with too.
What happens if you do not check the business lease first
One of the biggest problems is assuming you are free to transfer the lease because you are selling or handing over the business.
The lease itself needs to be checked.
It may say whether assignment is permitted and what conditions must be met before it can happen. Government guidance confirms that the ability to assign depends on the lease terms.
For example, the lease could require you to obtain the landlord’s consent before transferring it.
There may also be other conditions. The landlord might require information about the incoming tenant or ask for financial security before agreeing.
Onyx’s existing guidance for business buyers highlights several questions that can arise. These include whether assignment is allowed, whether landlord consent is required and whether a rent deposit or guarantee may be needed.
That is why the lease should be reviewed before you agree a firm handover or completion plan.
If you are selling your business, see Onyx’s guide to Commercial Lease Assignment: What Sellers Need Before Completion.
The key takeaway is to check what the business lease actually permits before treating the transfer as agreed.
Why landlord consent can become a problem
You may have agreed everything with the incoming tenant or business buyer. That does not necessarily mean the lease can now be transferred.
The landlord can still have an important role.
Where the lease requires consent, the landlord may want information about the incoming tenant before deciding whether to approve the assignment.
That might include information about their financial position, business plans or ability to meet the lease obligations.
A commercial lease transfer may therefore involve more than the outgoing and incoming tenant signing a document.
Onyx’s existing commercial lease guidance explains that landlord consent is commonly recorded through a licence to assign. The separate deed of assignment then carries out the transfer itself.
Problems can arise if you leave this until the business sale is nearly ready to complete.
For example, the landlord may identify unpaid rent, missing consent for alterations or another issue with the existing lease. The incoming tenant may also need time to supply financial information.
The Law Commission notes that requiring landlord consent before assignment is a very common feature of commercial leases.
This makes the landlord process something to deal with early rather than an administrative task to leave until the end.
Why the lease and business sale need to move together
If you are selling a business from rented premises, the lease and the business sale may depend on each other.
Imagine you are selling a café.
The buyer may be purchasing equipment, stock, goodwill and the trading operation. But if they cannot legally occupy the café premises, the transaction may not work as expected.
Selling the business does not itself transfer the commercial lease.
Onyx’s guidance on lease transfers explains that the property arrangements need to be handled separately but coordinated with the wider business transaction.
This is where treating the accountant as the only adviser can create a gap.
Your accountant may be dealing with valuations, accounts or tax issues. Your solicitor may need to coordinate the sale agreement with the lease assignment and landlord consent.
The documents also need to match what is actually happening.
For example, you do not want the business sale to assume that the buyer can take over the premises on a particular date if the landlord has not yet agreed to the assignment.
This is one reason Onyx treats the lease transfer and wider business transaction as connected work rather than leaving the property issue until completion.
For more detail, read Lease Transfer When Selling a Business: What Business Owners Should Know.
The practical takeaway is to make sure the business sale timetable and lease transfer timetable work together.
Why you may still have responsibilities after transferring the lease
Another common problem is assuming the outgoing tenant has no further responsibility once the lease has been transferred.
That may not always be correct.
A landlord may require an Authorised Guarantee Agreement, often called an AGA, as a condition of consenting to the assignment.
An AGA can require the outgoing tenant to guarantee certain obligations of the incoming tenant.
This matters because you could sell your business and transfer the lease but still retain a legal exposure connected with the premises.
The Law Commission’s 2026 commercial leasehold consultation confirms that authorised guarantee agreements form part of the statutory framework governing commercial lease assignments.
Onyx also identifies AGAs as one of the important issues sellers should understand before completion.
You should therefore know what you are being asked to guarantee before signing.
Do not assume a lease transfer automatically gives you a complete exit from every lease obligation.
How to manage a business lease transfer properly
A good starting point is to separate the legal questions from the financial ones.
Your solicitor and accountant may both have a role, but they are dealing with different parts of the matter.
Start by gathering the current lease and any related property documents.
These might include deeds of variation, previous landlord licences, rent deposit documents and correspondence about changes to the premises.
Your solicitor can then establish what the lease says about the assignment.
You should also identify whether the landlord’s consent is required and what the landlord is likely to need from the incoming tenant.
If the transfer is part of a business sale, make sure the property work starts early enough to move alongside the sale documents.
The accountant can then deal with any relevant accounting or tax questions arising from the wider transaction.
This gives you a clearer division of responsibility:
Solicitor: legal rights, lease terms, landlord consent and transfer documents.
Accountant: accounts, tax and financial consequences where relevant.
If you are on the other side of the transaction, Onyx also has guidance on Buying a Business With an Existing Lease: What You Need to Check.
The main goal is to know what needs to happen before you commit to a completion or handover date.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a solicitor to transfer a business lease?
A commercial lease assignment involves legal rights and documents. A solicitor can check the lease, advise on the assignment conditions and deal with the legal documents needed for the transfer.
Whether the transfer can proceed will depend on the lease terms and the circumstances. GOV.UK confirms that transferring a commercial lease depends on the details of the lease.
Can my accountant transfer my commercial lease?
An accountant may advise on tax and financial matters connected with the wider business transaction.
However, that is different from carrying out the legal assignment of the lease. If you are unsure who is responsible for each part, ask both advisers to confirm their scope before the transaction moves forward.
Does my landlord need to approve a lease transfer?
Often, yes.
Many commercial leases require landlord consent before assignment. You need to check the wording of your own business lease rather than assume permission will be given automatically.
What is a licence to assign?
A licence to assign records of the landlord’s consent to the proposed transfer where consent is required.
The deed of assignment then carries out the lease transfer. They perform different roles within the transaction.
Can transferring my lease delay the sale of my business?
It can.
The landlord may need information about the buyer, and issues with the existing lease may need resolving before consent is given. This is why the lease transfer should be considered early when planning the business sale.
Am I still responsible for the lease after I transfer it?
Possibly.
An outgoing tenant may be asked to enter an Authorised Guarantee Agreement. That can leave them responsible for certain obligations if the incoming tenant later defaults.
What should I send to a solicitor about my business lease?
Start with the signed lease and any documents that have changed or supplemented it.
It also helps to explain why you want to transfer the lease, who the proposed incoming tenant is and whether you are working towards a particular business sale or handover date.
Get clear on the lease before the transfer moves forward
Transferring a business lease is not simply an accounting task.
Your accountant can be important where the transaction raises financial or tax questions. Your solicitor deals with the legal position under the lease and the documents needed to transfer it.
The problems often start when the lease is checked too late. Landlord consent may still be needed. The incoming tenant may need to provide information. The outgoing tenant may also be asked to give a guarantee.
Getting the lease checked early gives you a clearer picture of what needs to happen before you commit to the transfer.
Your Next Step
Contact us today at 0121 268 3208 or via email at info@onyxsolicitors.com for a FREE consultation. Let us help you achieve the peace of mind that comes with having expert legal support on your side.
