You might think that if you sue a tenant that has stopped paying rent and abandoned or been evicted from its space, it’s only fair that the tenant pays you what it owes in damages. If you’re surprised to find out that some tenants end up paying only a fraction or even none of the...
Q: After I sent a notice of default to a tenant and asked it to cure the default under the terms we had agreed on in the lease, the tenant claimed it hadn’t defaulted. There have been protracted discussions over the course of about two...
The right to be the only tenant in a shopping center or mall that sells a certain type of product or operates a certain type of business is highly valuable—and, therefore, very strategically negotiated. This right, which is given to the tenant in the exclusive use clause of its lease, can...
Q: I’m trying to change the synergy at my shopping center to make it more high-end. In the process, I’ve decided to terminate the leases for some of the less upscale retailers there. I complied with the termination requirements in...
So they can enforce the lease terms they’ve negotiated with their tenants, office building and shopping center owners build remedies into their agreements. But even though an owner’s remedies can redress many situations, it still behooves you to give your tenant a strong incentive to...
Q: A tenant’s space at my shopping center was damaged and I can’t afford to fix it immediately. The tenant is withholding rent, but continuing to operate from an undamaged portion of its store, so I don’t believe that it can...
It’s not uncommon for tenants to plan to spend more than you’ve agreed to pay for a tenant improvement allowance (TIA). Owners have a dual goal when providing a TIA: It entices tenants to lease the space and, by being updated, the space is more valuable overall. But generally it...
Q: I signed a lease for space at my shopping center with a tenant that said it would operate a floral shop. Apparently, after a storefront that is more convenient for its business became available, it decided to use that space for retail...
Operating expenses for an office building or retail property have the potential to make or break an owner’s or tenant’s budget. So it’s not surprising that they’re also a major point during lease negotiations. Your goal should be to pass through in the lease as many...
Many retail space owners, and especially mall owners, give themselves a relocation right. That is, the right to relocate the tenant to a different space in the center or mall under certain circumstances. Negotiating a relocation right can be tricky—if you don’t draft this provision...
The initially slow-growing movement towards environmental sustainability in past years has become a full-blown way of life for many people, chief among them business owners. In fact, some retail tenants have either staked their business model on being “green”...
Many people don’t know that retailers—namely drug stores, grocery stores, discount department stores, home improvement stores, music stores, and book stores—have special deals with manufacturers, vendors, or suppliers to promote certain products. And that might not mean much to...
