If you use a standard lease form that includes blanks for listing appropriate information, don’t leave any of the blanks empty. If you do and end up in a dispute with a tenant, you open the door to the court’s interpreting the meaning of the blank space using “parol” or...
If you use a standard lease form that includes blanks for listing appropriate information, don’t leave any of the blanks empty. If you do and end up in a dispute with a tenant, you open the door to the court’s interpreting the meaning of the blank space using “parol” or...
It’s important to send tenants and other parties all notices the lease requires you to provide even if you think they already know the information the notice contains. Your supposition about the tenant’s knowledge may be 100 percent correct. But even if the required notification...
Don’t rely on “implied” covenants that aren’t expressly stated in the lease if you want retail tenants to continuously operate from their space. There’s a possibility that a court will find that such a covenant exists in limited circumstances, such as when the lease...
If a tenant exercises a renewal option without following all the procedures or requirements set out in the renewal clause, object right away. Failure to speak now may mean that you’ll forever have to hold your peace. That’s because a court might determine that in keeping silent you...
Don’t rely on “implied” covenants that aren’t expressly stated in the lease if you want retail tenants to continuously operate from their space. There’s a possibility that a court will find that such a covenant exists in limited circumstances, such as when the lease...
When negotiating the terms of a work letter with a tenant, don’t just agree to do a particular item of work “to code,” without listing any specifics or limitations. When not properly defined or limited, the phrase “to code” can be the source of confusion,...
In these tough times, landlords need to find ways to turn lemons into lemonade. One example is considering whether the lemon of the tenant who’s paying below-market rent might yield sweet lemonade in the form of a reduction in your property tax assessment. This recipe has worked for many...
Don’t ease up on your efforts to re-rent space that a tenant has vacated early—even if the tenant is doing its own search for somebody to take over its rent obligations. While spending your own time and money might seem like a needless reduplication of effort, sitting back and...
Before notifying a tenant that it’s in default, be sure to check the lease to see if it includes any special requirements. If so, follow those requirements to the letter, or you could end up losing your eviction and other remedy rights.
Don’t send tenants a default notice for nonpayment of rent that doesn’t specifically identify the months. Failing to list the months of nonpayment in the notice may cost you your right to evict the tenant or terminate the lease.
Landlords should make it a point of emphasis to ensure that the lease describes all tenant payments and charges as either “rent” or “additional rent.” While it might seem like a legal technicality, using these terms ensures you access to fast-track eviction if the tenant...
