Rank: Forum user 
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Can you please advise what we should do in this situation! We have an unpaying commersial tenant and an historical long lase with little or no information about terms and conditions of who is responsible for the fabric and contents of the unit. Should we as landlord and owner of the unit draw a line under the current situation and poor lease by updating the contents of the unit to current safety standards?
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Rank: Super forum user 
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David
As the Landlord the RRFSO and other legislation applies to you and therefore it is your duty to ensure the premises are safe for use. I would also suggest updating your leasehold agreement to reflect any changes and identify who is responsible for fire safety, repairs and maintenance.
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Rank: Super forum user
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You need to get the advice of a chartered surveyor specialising in commercial leases. It all comes down to the age and type as well as terms and condition of the lease. Do not assume liability just because the lease is not clear, it could be a serious error with far reaching consequences. It is a complex area with numerous test cases and a tribunal service.
You are not automatically responsible as a landlord under the RRFSO, you may have no responsibilities, be partly or fully responsible but again a chartered surveyor should be able to help you
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Rank: Forum user
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A commercial lease of the whole of a property is usually drafted on Fully Repairing and Insuring terms (known as an FRI lease) where the tenant would be responsible as the Occupier in regard to all legislation. If the lease is part of a shared building, the tenant would usually be responsible for its internal demise, with the landlord responsible for the structural elements and common areas.
In either situation, it would be highly irregular for the landlord to have any responsibility for the tenant's contents.
On the specific RRSFO question, the "responsible person" is the employer if the property is a workplace. The owner would only be responsible where it is not a workplace, and there is nobody in control of it.
As the lease is a contractual arrangement for an agreed length of time, it will almost certainly not be possible for the landlord to simply change the terms without the tenant's agreement.
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Rank: Forum user
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I agree that you should seek legal advice about the lease and get this resolved, the terms of the lease would then be agreed. Most older commercial leases usually require the leaseholder to carry out repairs and safety compliance etc. (as longfellow says) or the owner carries it out an the costs become re-chargeable as a service charge. Not having a lease could create a secure tenancy under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.
If you think they have unsafe premises you could advise them of this and then in the meantime take legal advice as to who should carry out and pay for any safety works.
Remember that the occupant - if it is a workplace - also has a duty of care to protect their workers and others regardless of who should be carrying the works by terms of a lease or contract, so they also have their own duty of care to their workers, commercial leases can be complicated and sometimes who is responsible for what is not straightforward. Have you tried land registry I think leases are sometimes held by them. You should think also about risk management and your insurance policy - if because the building is in poor safety standards and goes up in smoke as a result what would your losses be? I would suggest that you get that legal advice!
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