Under the Landlord and Tenant (Business Premises) Act, a business tenancy does not end automatically. Instead, it continues indefinitely unless properly terminated [Landlord and Tenant (Business Premises) Act, S.4]. This protects tenants by requiring formal legal procedures rather than allowing a lease simply to expire.
A landlord who wants to end the tenancy must give written notice in the prescribed form, specifying the termination date [Landlord and Tenant (Business Premises) Act, S.5]. Critically, this notice must be given between six and twelve months before the date the tenancy is to end. The tenant then has two months from receiving this notice to inform the landlord in writing whether they will vacate on that date [Landlord and Tenant (Business Premises) Act, S.2].
A tenant also has rights if they occupy a fixed-term tenancy. If the tenant does not want the tenancy to continue when the fixed term ends, they can give the landlord written notice within three months before that date to prevent automatic renewal [Landlord and Tenant (Business Premises) Act, S.8]. Importantly, when a landlord serves termination notice or when a tenant requests renewal, the tenant may apply to the court for a new tenancy [Landlord and Tenant (Business Premises) Act, S.4]. The parties can also agree to renew the tenancy on new terms, which will override the statutory protections [Landlord and Tenant (Business Premises) Act, S.9].