Although you try your best to avoid them, issues can occur whilst being a business owner without warning. Most of these disputes can be rather unique and not necessarily straightforward to deal with, especially with regards to commercial property. What’s most important when these problems arise, however, is that they are dealt with efficiently in a cost-effective way to prevent any in the future.
What Are The Types Of Disputes Within Commercial Property?
When you’re buying, selling or developing a property, there are certain disputes that can occur during the process. To protect yourself, you need to be aware of what these can be so you can avoid them wherever possible. Examples of commercial property disputes include:
Landlord/Tenant Disputes
If you’re renting out a property to tenants, typical disputes involve rent, premise conditions, contract disputes etc. This is extremely likely if you have a property portfolio as you have a diverse range of tenants that you may not always be able to get to know on a personal level. Those landlords who rent property through a lettings agency will benefit from letting the agency deal with any queries or issues that a tenant may have.
Disputes Over Boundaries
In some cases, there can be issues around land and whether or not one’s property is ‘spilling over’ into someone else’s land. A settlement would need to be made between the two parties about where the boundaries lie between the properties. In many cases, this is a dispute that can months or even years as both parties are stubborn in finding common ground.
Construction Disputes
A neighbour in the surrounding area could have an issue with proposed planning applications, stopping construction before it can even start. Alternatively, if construction does go ahead, they may be complaining about noise or environmental pollution, and the disturbance that it is causing them.
Purchasing Land
Acquisition disputes can also occur when you’re attempting to buy land for your business. This can include problems such as breach of contract, border disputes and compulsory purchase.
How Do I Deal With Disputes Over Commercial Property Ownership?
This will be totally dependant on the type of dispute that your business is being faced with, but you shouldn’t ever feel as though there’s absolutely no way out. Resolving disputes over commercial property can actually be relatively simple. There are plenty of dispute resolution lawyers available to help you through the process. However, before you contact lawyers for assistance, try resolving the issue first through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
Here are some other ways to deal with a dispute:
Mediation
Mediation is a common form of ADR which will involve parties directly related to the property. Whether it’s the landlord, tenant, neighbours etc, all will be required to come together and outline their issues. Going through this process can potentially prevent matters being taken to court.
Contacting The Council
Issues involving boundary disputes will require detailed plans of properties as evidence of the properties and boundaries involved. This would also be relevant to property development or planning except these would require to be sent to the council with a full explanation of what is required to be done before the work starts.
Court Proceedings
For matters that begin court proceedings, the judge will decide final matters regarding the dispute. The issue with matters being taken this far is that there’s a chance that the final decision doesn’t fall in your favour. This can be detrimental to your business growth which is why it’s important to find a resolution beforehand or use ADR methods. This can help to keep the growth of your business on track and keep relationships intact with close acquaintances.
Author Bio: Jamie is a freelance business and legal writer. He uses his knowledge from education as well as working alongside dispute resolution lawyers to produce the information in his articles. His aim is to expand his knowledge through research he conducts and gain further recognition of his skills as a legal writer.
