Since the introduction of the Electronic Communications Code ('the New Code'), many phone mast operators have taken a hostile and litigious approach with their site provider landlords. This means that landowners need to be very careful in any dealings with their telecoms tenants and to seek advice from a specialist telecoms agent before engaging. We have considerable experience in telecoms and have consistently been able to secure vastly improved terms to those offered, so please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require our assistance.
We have seen many examples of telecoms operators agents’ advising landowners that their site has negligible value; often misquoting court decisions, or advising that a site falls under the New Code when it doesn’t, or wrongly claiming that their client is the tenant.
In the majority of cases, the changes to the way telecoms sites are valued does result in a significant reduction in rent, but this is not true for every site. Furthermore, the amount of reduction differs from site to site, and in some cases the rent may actually go up.
Landowners should seek advice from their own specialist telecoms agent, to review their individual circumstances and discuss their options. We have been advising landowners since before the New Code and are fully up to date, meaning we are well positioned to act on your behalf.
In many cases, we are finding rent reviews which have been missed in the existing agreement, meaning there is money owing to the landlord. Most of the time, these can be implemented and negotiated retrospectively (often years later) and the appropriate back payment claimed.
Ensuring the rent reviews are up to date before granting a new agreement is also beneficial, as it can assist with negotiations and mitigate the impact of any reduction to the passing rent under the new agreement. Every agreement is different and may contain more than one rent review mechanism, so it is essential to use a specialist to deal with these for you.
Instructing a specialist will also ensure that the correct rent is agreed and with the correct tenant, otherwise this could prejudice your negotiating position later on. We would be pleased to assist if you think you may have outstanding rent reviews and can work on a “no win – no fee” basis.
If you own commercial property, or property along a motorway, or a residential tower block, or large land holding, and are interested in hosting telecommunications equipment, we can put an agreement in place with a third party infrastructure provider to market your property to Mobile Network Operators (MNO’s).
The terms of the agreements that we negotiate mean that if the demand of an MNO is matched to your property, then the third party infrastructure provider will enter a lease with you on pre-agreed terms, under which you will receive a profit share of the income received from the MNO’s.
The benefit of this arrangement is that you receive a share of the income produced from the telecoms equipment, which is not something you would be entitled to under the New Code. This also means that MNO’s will be less likely to impose code powers on you because there is already an agreement framework in place.
In addition to assisting you in becoming a landlord of telecoms equipment, we can also assist landowners who are already hosting telecoms equipment to maximise the freehold or leasehold value of their site (should they wish to sell their site or grant a long lease to a third party).
Once a sale or long leasehold deal has been agreed, we will work hard to negotiate detailed heads of terms for the freehold or leasehold disposal, for example to ensure you retain no ongoing responsibility or liability for the site once it has been transferred to the purchaser.
We typically work on a commission basis, whereby you only pay a fee if we negotiate an offer which you accept and you subsequently sell the site or grant a long lease. We can also assist landowners who are looking to serve notice to terminate the agreement with their telecoms tenant and seek removal of all the associated apparatus.
It is very common to receive requests from telecoms operators to make changes to masts, or to install new cables, or to assign the agreement to another operator. This can either be from the tenant themselves or another telecoms operator, and can be during the term of an existing agreement or following expiry.
It is important to be careful who you are granting consent or approval to and the circumstances under which you are granting such consent or approval, so as not to prejudice your position. We can advise what you should and shouldn’t be granting consent or approval for and how this may impact you later on.
We can also advise you if there should be a financial consideration payable and whether a solicitor should deal with any changes, and whether an Authorised Guarantee Agreement can be required, in addition to ensuring your costs are covered by the telecoms operator (where the circumstances allow).
In the event that an agreement cannot be reached, or completed ahead of a deadline, we can provide dispute support. This means that we will assist you throughout any dispute as agent (not as advocate or expert witness) by providing strategic advice, liaising with your solicitor and trying to secure a settlement.
We can also provide high level commentary and advice on statements of claim or response ahead of any court proceedings, mediation, arbitration or alternative dispute resolution proceedings in order to assist with your decision making, as well as carry out RICS Red Book valuations of telecoms sites.
In addition, we can instruct solicitors on your behalf should you have cause to take legal action against a telecoms operator and work with them to secure the best outcome. We can also instruct Counsel to provide a legal opinion on your chance of success, ahead of any dispute resolution proceedings.
