It seems odd that, during a period in which supply of office space exceeds demand, the Government is talking about enacting legislation to deter or outlaw the use of upward-only rent review clauses in commercial leases (UORRs). Institutional landlords maintain that the market will correct itself, pointing to their own experiences. In the current market, if UORRs are so unfair, why is it that more commercial tenants do not insist on their deletion?
The simplistic answer is that tenants would rather pay the lowest rent possible at the time they enter into the lease. But the Government believes this is not the case and that the continued existence of UORRs is a result of an inherent imbalance in the bargaining strength of landlords over tenants.
