Lease Health Check
Answer 12 questions about your railway arch lease and get a personalised risk assessment with actionable recommendations.
Step 1: Lease Basics
Tell us about the fundamental terms of your arch lease
Why Check Your Arch Lease Health?
Railway arch leases contain clauses that can cost you tens of thousands of pounds if you don't spot them before signing. Unlike standard commercial units, arches sit within Victorian-era viaduct structures owned by Network Rail, creating unique demise boundaries and repair obligations.
This free tool checks your lease terms against the most common traps we've identified from analysing hundreds of arch leases across The Arch Company, Places for London, and private landlords.
What Each Question Means
Security of Tenure
The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 gives business tenants an automatic right to renew their lease. However, most arch landlords contract out of this protection, meaning you have no legal right to stay at expiry. You'll know because you would have signed a separate declaration (or statutory declaration) before the lease.
FRI Lease
Full Repairing and Insuring (FRI) means you are responsible for all repairs during the lease and must return the property in the condition specified. For a 150-year-old brick arch, this can include damp remediation, brickwork repointing, and drainage repairs that pre-date your tenancy.
Schedule of Condition
A photographic and written record of the property's condition at lease start. Without one, the landlord can claim you caused pre-existing defects. Our dilapidations guide explains why this is essential.
Rent Review Type
Open market reviews allow the landlord to reset your rent to “market value” — which they determine. The Arch Company has imposed increases of 40–200%+. RPI-linked and fixed reviews are more predictable.
Jervis v Harris Clause
This “self-help” clause allows the landlord to enter your premises, carry out repairs they deem necessary, and charge the cost to you as a debt — not as damages. This bypasses the Section 18 cap on dilapidations, making it the most dangerous clause in an arch lease.