Start with the premises and the business
A shop, office or industrial unit can look suitable before the paperwork is considered. The practical fit still deserves its own attention: access, loading, customer movement and room for the business to operate. A modest rent does not resolve an unsuitable layout.
I would separate three questions. Does the space work for the intended use? What obligations come with occupation? What evidence supports the rent or capital value? Keeping them separate at first helps avoid a single attractive number dominating the whole decision.
Read the occupation costs together
The SCSI and Dublin Chamber guide for SMEs covers the wider cost of business premises, including rates, service charges, insurance and maintenance as well as rent (SCSI and Dublin Chamber, 2022). Ask for a clear cost schedule and supporting information.
For a simple invented example, €18,000 annual rent plus €4,000 in other property outgoings creates a different budget from €18,000 alone. This is illustrative arithmetic, not a quotation or estimate for a particular unit. Ask what remains variable and which figures exclude VAT before comparing alternatives.
Give the lease to the solicitor early
Have the solicitor explain the term, break arrangements, repairing obligations, permitted use, rent-review wording and the conditions attached to assignment or subletting. Ask the appropriate surveyor to advise on condition and any schedule of condition. The practical effect of an obligation depends on the document and circumstances.
The SCSI Business Leasing Code encourages clearer understanding and fairness in business leasing (SCSI, 2020). That is a useful starting principle. It does not replace advice on whether the proposed wording gives you the flexibility or protection you need.
Understand what income is being valued
The rent written in a lease and the rent that might be agreed in the market today are different questions. Establish the actual occupation position, payment record and relevant agreements before treating the headline income as a secure annual receipt.
RICS guidance identifies lease terms, incentives and other differences as matters that can affect the analysis of comparable evidence (RICS, 2023). A valuation therefore needs the underlying documents and a stated interest and purpose. Dividing a rent by a convenient yield cannot resolve missing information.
Keep a decision file
For an initial discussion, collect the lease and variations, rent schedule, service-charge information, available plans and condition reports. List unanswered questions alongside the documents, so the advisers can identify what needs clarification.
If the instruction concerns a rent review, dispute or another specialist issue, establish the required expertise and timetable first. An early enquiry is the opportunity to agree the right work, rather than to assume that every commercial question calls for the same report.
References
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Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) and Dublin Chamber (2022) A Guide to Property for SMEs. Available at: A Guide to Property for SMEs (Accessed: 1 November 2026).
Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) (2020) Business Leasing Code. Available at: Business Leasing Code (Accessed: 1 November 2026).
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) (2023) Comparable evidence in real estate valuation. 1st edn, originally published 2019; reissued 2023. Available at: Comparable evidence in real estate valuation. 1st edn, originally published 2019; reissued 2023 (Accessed: 1 November 2026).
Further reading
Nunnington, N., Dimopoulos, T. and Batista da Silva, F.A. (2026) The Income Approach to Property Valuation. 8th edn. Routledge. Edition, context & purchase links View / buy at publisher
Baum, A.E., Crosby, N. and Devaney, S. (2021) Property Investment Appraisal. 4th edn. Wiley-Blackwell. Edition, context & purchase links View / buy at publisher
Wylie, J.C.W. and Woods, U. (2020) Irish Conveyancing Law. 4th edn. Bloomsbury Professional. Edition, context & purchase links View / buy at publisher
Books listed for further reading have not necessarily been consulted in full. See the reading room for the basis of each recommendation.
General information for Irish property matters. The requirements of a particular instruction should be discussed with the appropriate professional. Editorial approach and source policy.
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