Help with lease please

[Ice queen]

Any legal peeps out there?

One of my friends has got herself in a tricky situation and I wondered if anyone else on here could help us out, as I am trying to get information for her. Any help would be greatly appreciated :-

3.5 years ago my friend (A) and her sister (B) set up a salon - the lease was solely in the name of A as B had credit problems

Shortly after A left the business but the lease remained in her name

Now there are rent arrears of approx £3.5k (rent £533 per month). A found this out when she phoned the landlord to ask for the lease to be changed into B's name following the 3 year lease term

B had been receiving demands but has been opening all post that was addressed to A and replying on her behalf

A has now missed the break clause and there are 2.5 years remaining on the lease

There are a number of issues :-

1. Can A evict B?

2. Is there any way A can sue B for the rent, even though there is no tenancy agreement?

2. If the rent arrears were paid could the lease be transferred into the name of a A's trading limited company?

Any help / pointers would be greatly appreciated

[eequals]

As A holds the lease she can choose to evict B. However because there is no tenancy agreement and A was not charging rent to B but simply relying on her to pay the landlord on her behalf, it would seem to be very difficult from the information you have provided to assess whether or not she could recover the rent from her. A is the one in law who is responsible for paying the rent.

Also any action A would pursue against B would be a complicated matter. She would have to prove that an implied contract existed between them. This means that the small claims court would not be an option because there would be an element of proving a case on the grounds of either performance or breach of (implied) contract. Such an action would therefore cost her a great deal more in legal fees than the £3.5K you mention with no guarantee of success.

Joe