However, it has the added disadvantage of being a fixed overhead. Given this and with the current drop in footfall in the high street, there is all the more reason now to ensure that you avoid the potentially costly pitfalls and perils when signing up to any new lease.

Prevention is better than cure when taking on a new lease (whether this is the renewal of a lease of current premises that has expired or a lease of premises to which you are relocating). Your solicitor will be able to advise you as to the risks contained in any lease.

However, outlined below are the most common lease clauses to look out for and useful points of negotiation.

A short term lease - five years - may offer you more flexibility, but try to insist that the lease is not contracted out of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954. This means that at the end of the contractual term, the lease will not expire, but will continue, unless you or the landlord serve notice to bring it to an end.

Alternatively, you may consider seeking a longer lease with an option(s) to break, which would give a longer term of guaranteed occupation but with flexibility. However, you should ensure that the option is not conditional on the prior compliance with your lease obligations, as you could lose your right to break even in the event of the most minor of breaches.

The level of rent is obviously a point of negotiation against the background of market conditions. However, you should try to negotiate as long a rent-free period as possible.

Many leases, particularly those over five years in length, provide that the rent is to be reviewed on a regular basis.

Obviously, a lease without any review of rent would be the most favourable option, but you are unlikely to negotiate this without cost.

Rent reviews Next best is a lease with upwards and downwards rent review, but such leases are not common. Accordingly, many leases provide for upwards only rent reviews, where the reviewed rent is calculated with reference to the market rent of comparable premises in the area at the date of review.

Some landlords offer annual RPI linked reviews, which allow retailers to more accurately predict the rent on review, as well as spreading the cost of the increase over time rather than having to suffer a large increase every five years.

Some landlords also insist that rent is calculated by reference to turnover. The rent payable is expressed as a fixed rent plus a percentage of your turnover. The advantage is that if your turnover is low, your rent is low, but conversely if you are doing well your rent will be high.

You should obviously make sure the permitted use stated in the lease is wide enough to allow you to carry out all the activities that you envisage.

Avoid "keep open" clauses, which may entitle the landlord to terminate the lease if you do not keep the premises continually open for trade.

You may be able to negotiate a restriction on the landlord, that it will not allow any neighbouring premises to be used for purposes that compete with your business.

Unless you are taking a lease of an entire building, you should ensure that the landlord provides all necessary services (including repair and maintenance of the common parts, structure, roof and foundations, and the provision of heating, ventilation and airconditioning). The landlord will charge you, but it may be possible to negotiate a cap on your contribution to the landlord's costs.

In any event, you should seek to ensure the landlord cannot recover the costs of advertising the retail development; refurbishment or development; remedying inherent defects or any damage caused by defects against which the landlord has insured; the cost of managing the estate.

Terrorism excluded Commonly, the landlord covenants to insure the premises against a wide range of risks. It is usual practice for landlords to specifically exclude an obligation to insure against damage caused by terrorism.

However, any such damage will then fall to you to repair.

Accordingly, you should ensure terrorist damage is excluded from your repairing obligation, that rent and service charge are suspended and that you will be entitled to terminate the lease in the event of such damage.

Rent should be suspended not only in the event the premises are damaged or destroyed by an insured risk, but also where access to the premises or use of the common parts are prevented.

Most leases contain an obligation to maintain the premises in good repair and condition. With the lease of an entire building, you should insist the exterior structure, foundations and roof are excluded from the repairing obligation. It is also reasonable to insist that any inherent defects and damage caused by insured risks are excluded from your obligation.

You may wish to request an exclusion of liability for fair wear and tear and/or that you need not maintain the premises in any better standard of repair and condition than at the date of the lease.

In relation to alterations, there are a number of issues to consider. Generally, as well as having to ensure that the premises are compliant with all fire regulations you will have to comply with all relevant planning legislation. It is likely that planning permission will be required if you wish to change the exterior or the shop front of the premises, and even internal alterations may require planning permission.

You must make certain that any alterations you envisage are permitted under the lease and, ideally, you should attempt to negotiate that you are not obliged to remove your alterations when you vacate.

You should make sure that there are not any onerous restrictions on assigning or underletting the premises, in order to give you flexibility in dealing with the whole or part of the premises in the event they become surplus to requirements.