Tenancy at Will - I'm so bloody angry

[stowsettler]

BabyStow's day nursery has been slapped with a fourfold rent increase.

It's based in a local community resource centre which is run by a local community development trust - funded by Welsh Assembly, Sports council for Wales, Objective 1 Funding, Communities First amongst others.

The girl who runs it is quite young but has managed to sustain a thriving little business in there since 2007. Part of the trust's 'mission' was to increase the area GDP and to increase employment opportunities.

I was just wondering whether there was some sort of 'accepted practice' surrounding tenancies at will, which I always thought were only really used as an interim measure? It just doesn't seem ethical to me that these bastards can just bung up the rent fourfold, put the girl out of business and her staff out of jobs, all in a resource centre which is meant to be in existence to help people like her - not to mention the local kids who go there and love it.

It seems clear that she hasn't got a legal leg to stand on - but does she have any leg to stand at all?

TIA

[Leopoldina]

who is putting up the rent? the trust itself? someone who is good at interpreting these things (find a lawyer?) should read through the declaration of trust and powers of the trustees to check whether they're acting within their scope of authority.
what does her lease say about rent reviews? again, have the rent review clause read over with a fine toothcomb, they can be quite complicated
Ultimately however it may be that she was given an easy ride to get started and it was always intended to go up to market rate after a period of grace - do you happen to know whether the 4fold increase takes it in line with open market rents or is it way out of line?

[stowsettler]

I confess I don't know for sure - but I'd be amazed if businesses in the area could afford that sort of rent, it's quite a deprived area.
I have a little more hope tonight because my cousin is a barristers' clerk in London and his senior partner reckons there's very possibly some legs in this - even mentioned a judicial review. Fingers crossed xxx