Authorised Guarantee Agreement Solicitors

Assigning a commercial lease often comes with a catch. Landlords can require the outgoing tenant to guarantee the incoming tenant’s performance under an Authorised Guarantee Agreement. Our solicitors review, negotiate and draft AGAs so you understand exactly what you are agreeing to before you sign.

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Why Liability Doesn’t Always End at Signing

An AGA does not usually last forever, but it does not end the moment you sign either. Liability generally continues only while your immediate assignee remains the tenant, and even after release you can still be liable for sums that fell due earlier. If a landlord wants to recover money from a former tenant under an AGA, they must serve a section 17 notice within six months of the debt arising. Miss that detail and a former tenant may have grounds to challenge the claim. Our authorised guarantee agreement solicitors working with landlords and tenants across Manchester and the UK check timing and drafting on both sides of an AGA, not just the headline terms.

How Our Authorised Guarantee Agreement Solicitors Help Landlords and Tenants

An Authorised Guarantee Agreement can sit quietly in a lease for years before it matters. Here is where our support typically comes in.

Reviewing Proposed AGA Terms

Owner exits and trade sales supported end to end, from heads of terms through to completion. Sale structure agreed, exit timing planned, and the legal process managed so the deal lands on the terms you signed up to.

Negotiating the Alienation Clause

Acquisitions, bolt-ons and trade purchases. Deal structure, due diligence and transaction documents supported so you understand exactly what you are buying and the risks that come with it.

Advising Outgoing Tenants on Exposure

If you are the outgoing tenant, we explain what your ongoing exposure looks like once you have assigned, and what steps, such as an indemnity from the incoming tenant, can realistically reduce it.

Checking Section 17 Notices

We check that any section 17 notice served on a former tenant meets the six month time limit and is in the correct form, since a defective or late notice can be challenged and may not be enforceable.

Drafting AGAs for Landlords

For landlords, we draft AGAs that reflect the financial risk of the incoming tenant, sit correctly alongside the licence to assign, and hold up if the guarantee is ever called on.

What This Means for You

Clarity on exactly what you are guaranteeing and for how long
Reduced risk of an open ended or unreasonable AGA
A properly timed response if a section 17 notice arrives
Stronger negotiating position on the alienation clause at lease stage
Confidence the AGA reflects the real risk, not just the landlord’s opening position

Trusted by landlords and tenants across the UK for practical Authorised Guarantee Agreement advice.

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When To Seek Advice

You are assigning a lease and asked to sign an AGA
A landlord has served a section 17 notice on you
You are negotiating a new lease with an alienation clause
You are a landlord deciding whether an AGA is reasonable to request, speak to our solicitors first
You want to know how long your liability will realistically last

Why Businesses Choose MAR Legal for Authorised Guarantee Agreement Advice

Solicitor led advice

Every AGA is read and explained by our solicitors.

No obligation consultation

We flag section 17 notice deadlines and release conditions before they become a problem.

Transparent Pricing

Fixed Fee pricing is available for straightforward AGA reviews.

UK Wide Support

We advise landlords and tenants across Manchester and the UK.

    
 
 
         
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Meet the Founder

Marium brings 22 years of experience advising landlords and tenants on commercial leases and property matters across Manchester and the UK, including assignments, guarantees and the obligations that follow a tenant after they have left a property. A Solicitor regulated by the SRA (ID: 277854) and a registered Part II Practitioner, Marium founded MAR Legal to give businesses direct access to senior commercial lease legal advice without the overhead of a traditional firm.

Marium Razzaq
Solicitor & Director Mar Legal
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How Our Authorised Guarantee Agreement Process Works

Initial Consultation

Tell us whether you are the landlord, the outgoing tenant or the incoming tenant, and what stage the assignment has reached.

Review or Drafting

We review the proposed AGA and alienation clause, or draft one from scratch, and set out what it means for you.

Negotiation

We negotiate terms directly with the other side or their advisers, including any alternative security in place of an AGA.

Completion

The AGA is finalised alongside the licence to assign, and we confirm what happens next if the guarantee is ever called on.

Authorised Guarantee Agreement FAQs

An Authorised Guarantee Agreement (AGA) is a legal agreement entered into when a commercial tenant assigns their lease to someone else. The outgoing tenant guarantees that the incoming tenant will meet the lease obligations, including paying rent, insurance and service charge and keeping the property in repair. If the incoming tenant later fails to comply, the landlord may pursue the outgoing tenant under the AGA rather than the new tenant directly.

It depends on the lease. If the lease states that an AGA is a condition of consent to assign, the landlord can usually insist on one. If the lease is silent, a landlord can still ask for an AGA but only where it is reasonable, which often comes down to the financial strength of the incoming tenant. A newer business with limited trading history is more likely to trigger the requirement than an established one.

Liability under an AGA generally continues only while the person you assigned to remains the tenant. Once that assignee lawfully assigns the lease onward, you are usually released from future liability, though you can still be pursued for sums that were already due before release. The exact release terms depend on the wording of the specific AGA, which is why the drafting matters as much as the decision to sign.

A section 17 notice is the formal demand a landlord must serve on a former tenant to recover fixed charges such as rent, service charge or insurance rent under an AGA. It has to be served within six months of the sum falling due. Miss that window and the landlord loses the right to recover that particular amount from the former tenant, which makes the notice’s timing and form worth checking carefully on both sides.

A guarantor is a separate person or company who agrees to cover the tenant’s obligations if the tenant does not. An AGA is narrower: it is the outgoing tenant themselves guaranteeing the specific incoming tenant they assigned to, and it only applies on assignment. A lease can require both a guarantor for the current tenant and an AGA if that tenant later assigns, so the two are not mutually exclusive.

If the incoming tenant defaults, for example by falling into rent arrears or breaching repair obligations, the landlord can serve a section 17 notice on the outgoing tenant and pursue them for the sums due. The former tenant who pays under an AGA may then have the right to request an overriding lease, which puts them between the landlord and the defaulting tenant and gives them more control over recovering their position.

There is no legal requirement to use a solicitor, but the wording of an AGA determines exactly what you are liable for and for how long, so most landlords and tenants take advice before signing. A solicitor can also check whether the AGA is genuinely required under the lease, whether the timing of any section 17 notice is valid, and whether alternative security such as a rent deposit could be negotiated instead.

MAR Legal provides advisory and drafting support in relation to Authorised Guarantee Agreements and commercial lease assignments. Where a matter proceeds to a dispute or court process, we work alongside appropriately regulated professionals to support you through to completion.

Authorised Guarantee Agreement Lawyers

Why Liability Doesn’t Always End at Signing