About Highgate

All of our properties to let are listed on Zoopla and Prime Location.  Historically, most business tenancies for workshops or offices have been granted under long-term full-repairing leases. The tenant is locked into an agreed term that does not allow future flexibility if the business grows or contracts.  If you are lucky, or unlucky enough to be such a tenant, long after you vacate the premises, if you are unable to "sell on" that leasehold arrangement, you will still be liable for the rent and all the other obligations provided for under the lease.

The commitments are not so onerous for tenants at Highgate.  For the first year only, new tenants at Highgate Works are offered a lease for one year .  The lease provides use of the property for agreed business purposes only, allowed by Wealden District Council.  Tenants agree to return the property in the state in which it was at the start of the term.  A deposit is taken at the outset.  This is returned at the end of any tenancy, when the property is to be returned as agreed. If, after the first year, both parties are happy to extend the tenancy, this will be via a three year lease which the tenant can end at any time by giving three calendar months' notice.  The landlord, by law, can only end the tenancy if the terms of the lease are not adhered to.

Leasehold good quality (and bad quality) office accommodation in the East Grinstead area can be found between £14 and £28 per square foot for space around 1000 square feet.  Premises less than 1000 square feet are hard to find and are usually more expensive per square foot.  We have both old and new buildings each with unique characters. The setting in the countryside is attractive.  Gas fired central heating is a feature of all the new brick-built properties.  Some have full air-conditioning.  You can find EPC certificates and EICR electrical reports for all of the premises. 

Highgate Works property features

• We are a few yards just off the main A22, half a mile south of Forest Row village.
• We carry out all external maintenance and repairs.
• Car spaces are charged at £7 per space per week or £365 per annum or £1 per day.
• We maintain the car parks, the driveways and the country fencing. No pets are allowed at Highgate Works.

Toilets

For the older buildings without toilets, there are outside male and female toilets which are located opposite the entrance to P J Autos Garage which are cleaned daily and consumables replaced.

Waste

There is communal use of dustbins which are sited in Tomtits Lane. There is a charge of £30 per month for 275 litres of waste (that is one quarter of the 1100 litre bins on wheels which are in Tomtits Lane).

Legal Fees

There are no legal fees, unless you wish to instruct a solicitor yourself. 

Signage

We arrange for an engraved plastic weatherproof name sign for 1) the car spaces required 2) the accommodation 3) the entrance sign board. The cost of this is around £70 plus VAT is added to the tenancy agreement.

Electricity

Electricity which includes “climate change levy” is supplied by Smartest Energy . Electricity will be charged at 29.5 per kw or kilowatt hour. All tenants pay the normal daily standing charge which is levied @ 30p per day . Electricity is measured on an individual premises meter.

Payment

Payment is by standing order: An example: If the tenancy starts on January 1st, the initial payment (three months' rent in advance) will cover rent up to the end of March.  First payment by standing order on February 1st will pay rent for April.

Deposit

Decorative order deposit: It is understood that the deposit is held to ensure that the property is returned in the same decorative order.  Fair (and unfair) wear and tear must be made good, and this includes paintwork and carpets.  The deposit figure in no way covers the cost of fixing the dIlapidations.  For example, if you leave a deposit of £1000 and manage to remove the roof, then the deposit amount does not provide a limit of liability.

However, the deposit will be gladly refunded in full, if the property is returned in the same condition as it was on the first day you moved in (this realistically will usually involve quite a bit of restorative effort).

Insurance

AVIVA provide property insurance as one policy on the whole of Highgate Works.  The premium is divided up among all occupiers and based upon the rental area in square feet of each.  All external repairs and maintenance, toilet and communal area maintenance, central heating, leaf clearance remain the responsibility of the landlord.  The tenant is responsible for all interior decoration and all window cleaning.