Operating costs are one of the main cost concerns for both retail and office building tenants. So they’re one of the first things on a tenant’s radar when it’s looking to cut costs. A tenant trying to trim operating costs can spell trouble for you, however, if believing that it...
No matter how financially sound your tenants seem at the start of a lease, there’s no guarantee they will stay that way. So it’s important to take all possible steps to protect yourself. Once a tenant files for bankruptcy, bankruptcy laws control what you can collect from the...
Over the years, commercial real estate owners and tenants have hammered out many issues surrounding compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, often specifying in their leases which party will be responsible for compliance. But if you don’t draft your lease terms carefully with a...
Unlike office building tenants, many retail tenants rely on foot traffic to bring in at least some of their sales. If you own a shopping center for long enough, you’ve probably had to do maintenance work or make repairs to your property, which may have included erecting scaffolding or...
The popularity of mixed-used properties—buildings with both residential occupants and retail tenants—has increased in recent years, creating a unique opportunity for some owners who can reap the benefits of such an arrangement. For example, popular retail tenants are exposed to...
Trying to fill vacant space while your office building or shopping center is undergoing renovations can be tricky. A new tenant might anticipate not having access to some of the amenities, equipment, or services that it expects to be able to use.
In some cases, either you or the tenant—or both parties—will want to end the tenant’s lease early. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The tenant may be having a hard time making ends meet and want to downsize, relocate to cheaper space, or go out of business, giving you...
A letter of intent (LOI), also known as a “term sheet,” sets the stage for a lease. Signed by both the owner and tenant, the LOI indicates that both parties intend to go through with a lease, and includes terms that are fundamentally important to the tenant's operation, such as...
At the beginning of negotiations, when you ask yourself the broad question of what rights you can put into the lease to protect yourself if your tenant defaults, “self-help” should come to mind as one of the remedies you can rely on. Most standard commercial leases include a “...
Most leases contain an assignment clause that requires tenants to get your consent before they may assign their leases. But some leases contain a loophole that risks giving the tenant too broad a right and being forced later to rent space to a tenant that isn’t appropriate for your...
If your lease’s assignment clause is like most, it requires the tenant to get your written consent before it may assign its lease. But unless that consent includes certain conditions, you risk giving the tenant too broad a right and being forced later to rent space to a tenant that isn...
