Conclusion 17

About 18% of GP surgeries are owned by NHS Property Services. The rest are either commercially owned or owner-occupied.34 We asked NHS Property Services whether it is fair that one GP practice is paying a full rent on its commercial premises, and yet another GP practice down the road occupying broadly similar premises can get away with not paying its rent to NHS Property Services on time or at all. NHS Property Services acknowledged that it was not equitable, but also said that the starting positions were very different. Tenants in commercial properties willingly took on tenancy agreements compared to its tenants who were already in occupation, where the basis for occupation and charging were unclear, and in the absence of any documentation, the enforcement route is unclear.35