I have 2 problems with a property which lease expired last month.

Firstly the agents for the landlord forgot to increase the rent as per the lease and therefore sent us a bill last month for £3,500. They have a £2,000 bond of ours, but I have asked for time to pay the outstanding amount. Am I justified to do this. We payed all the invoices sent to us, it was there mistake.

Secondly, the agents are saying they need the property painting (floors and walls) and a current electrical certificate. Our lease states we must leave it in a reasonable condition. We have a skip ordered for tomorrow, if we empty the unit tomorrow, tidy up, and them send them the keys back, what actions can the agent take against us.

Your advice or past experiences would be gratefully received.

They are using bully boy style tactics to make us do theses things.

You signed the lease which included the increments. By not highlighting this were you hoping that they had forgotten? How is it their fault? You knew the terms and should have let them know, 50/50 blame on that one unless you were indeed hoping that they had overlooked the increments, if this is the case then it is 100% your fault.

They have no legal obligation to offer you extended payment options so they can do one of two things. Insist that you pay now, if you don't they are within their rights to sell the debt/ put you in the county court meaning you will have a CCJ or they may just want their money back and agree to extended terms.

When you took out the lease you should have taken loads of photos to show the state of the building, and a load more on exit. If your lease states that you are responsible for maintenance then you need to leave it exactly as you found it, if this means painting, then paint.

I'm not 100% on commercial property but I imagine the arrears would need to be over a certain amount to start legal proceedings on that ground (two months for residential rental).

Not an expert in this area and of course I haven't seen the lease but.......

If you have a lease it is not a good idea to walk out because you will still owe the rent for the rest of the period of the lease even though you have vacated. Even though it was the agents fault you still owe the back rent.

I would try and point out to the landlord direct that the agent didn't handle the increase as they should have. The agents might be keeping quiet about their error and just telling them you are behind with your rent. If the landlord knows the situation they are more likely to give you a bit of time, especially in the current property market.

If the lease says you have to repaint the inside & outside every 3 years (for instance) it doesn't matter if it needs it - you are still liable to do it. Again you could always approach the landlord and see if they would let you leave it for a bit in the circumstances.