THE owner of a Grafton Street shop who offered to pay hundreds of thousands of euro to anyone willing to buy out his lease is being taken to court for refusing to pay his landlord.

Two weeks after justice minister Dermot Ahern announced he would scrap upward-only rent reviews on future lease agreements, the pending action will act as a test case for retrospective deals.

John Corcoran, the owner of Korky's shoe shop, said he will fight his landlord Canada Life Assurance in order to secure a 'get-out' option for other tenants trapped in paying high rents during the recession.

Last year, Corcoran offered a €300,000 handshake to anyone willing to take over his lease, but says there was no interest in what he sees as an over-priced rent.

Corcoran said he welcomed Ahern's announcement that he would ban upward-only rent reviews – with which landlords increase but never decrease rents – but said it did little for those currently paying high rates.

"It's the first step but we will definitely go with this test case," he told the Sunday Tribune.

"The minister said this would make it more equitable between the landlord and the tenant – in other words that what is there at the moment is not equitable or is a problem for those people who are there at the moment and are trapped.

"We will do anything we can do to undo this thing going forward and we will also lobby politicians for an exit for those locked into the current situation."

Last month, Simon Hart Ltd, trading as Korky's, received a High Court summons in relation to €111,250 in unpaid rent.

Corcoran maintains the amount owed falls under the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court and not the High Court but is prepared to fight the case. He says Korky's had paid three quarters of the €445,000 annual fee but had sought a reduction.

While a part referral on payment was offered – which would mean repaying the balance over two years – Corcoran is insistent on fighting for a reduction in court.

Earlier this month, Ahern signed the banning order on review clauses under Section 132 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act which will come into effect next February.

Property consultants CB Richard Ellis criticised the move, saying it would do little to help existing tenants and could be potentially damaging to the Irish investment market.

Canada Life Assurance said it could not comment as the matter is before the courts.