Should your GP surgery lease contain a break clause?

When negotiating a new lease, there are lots of terms to consider.

Whilst GP surgery leases are fairly similar to standard commercial leases, there are specific points that should be considered when negotiating the terms of the practice lease. Consideration should in particular be paid to whether the partners would like a break clause to be included in the lease.

A break clause is a provision that would allow either you or the landlord to terminate the lease prior to the contractual end date, subject to certain requirements (as agreed between you and the landlord) being met. The usefulness of such a clause in GP surgery leases relates to the reimbursement of rent as you will not be able to claim reimbursement of the rent if you lose your core contract.

Therefore, you may want to consider whether you would like the ability to break your lease in the event that you were to lose your core contract. Otherwise the party named as the tenant under the lease (which is generally either the partners individually or the partnership) would still be personally responsible for paying the rent and complying with the terms of the lease.

Whilst the landlord would also need to agree to the inclusion of a break clause in the lease, the earlier in negotiations that the point is raised the more likely they may be to agreeing such a clause.

If you would like to discuss your lease I can be contacted on 01206 217 337 or [email protected].