Part 3: Rent Reviews - The Journey of a Single Commercial Property

In this episode, I walk through rent reviews — one of the most important, and often misunderstood, stages in the lifecycle of a commercial property.On paper, rent reviews are designed to protect and grow income. In reality, the outcome depends entirely on how the lease is structured and how the process is managed.I explain what should happen during a rent review, the costs involved, and why not all rent reviews are created equal.Using a simple index-linked example, I show how some reviews can be straightforward and predictable — but I also explore the complexity of open market rent reviews, and why we made the decision to stop negotiating them altogether from January 2026.What a structured rent review process looks like in practiceWhy reading and understanding the lease is criticalHow rent is valued and negotiatedThe typical costs involved (and when they escalate)A real example of an index-linked rent reviewThe difference between index-linked and open market reviewsWhy open market rent reviews are becoming increasingly problematicWhy we no longer offer open market rent review negotiationsRent reviews are about protecting income — not gambling on it.The mechanism written into the lease matters more than the review itself, which is why the best outcomes are created at the point of lease negotiation, not years later.Open market rent reviews sound attractive in theory, but in today’s market they are often:Time-consumingExpensiveSubjectiveProne to disputeIn many cases, landlords are better off agreeing simple, structured increases upfront rather than relying on a process that may never deliver a clear outcome.Index-Linked Rent ReviewA simple, mechanical review based on RPI — no negotiation required, but not always reflective of true market conditionsAsk a question anonymously for the Q&A episode:https://forms.gle/znWTFqF74xguaB21AIn the next episode, I’ll be covering arrears — and what happens when income stops coming in.