Q: Several years ago, I began subleasing my space at a shopping center to a new tenant. Recently, that space was affected when the city condemned a portion of the property for a public works project. As a result, the space became unusable....
Shopping centers often have one or more parking areas available for tenants’ customers and employees. Without adequate parking at the property where they rent space, stores and offices couldn’t survive—and owners would lose them quickly. Providing parking seems as though it...
Ideally, you’ll want to keep square footage and dimensions out of your lease or attached floor plan because those numbers can easily become the focus of a dispute. But you may have to include square footage or dimensions in certain circumstances—for example, if you’re dealing...
Q: My lease with a tenant gave me the right to evict it if it defaulted on the lease. After the tenant failed to pay rent, it also moved out of the space but left behind a few items that seemed worthless. I engaged in a self-help eviction, by...
If you signed a lease with an operating cotenancy clause, you may feel that you’re under pressure to keep the status quo at your center or pay the price by allowing the tenant with a cotenancy right to pay reduced rent or take advantage of other concessions if one or more other tenants...
Are you fully protected if your tenant moves out at the end of its lease and leaves the space in such terrible shape that it’s unrentable right away? Your lease probably requires the tenant to pay for any costs and repairs that may be necessary, but that may not be effective to cover ...
Q: A jury ruled in favor of a tenant that sued me for breaching its lease for space at my shopping center. The tenant argued that I had breached the lease by accepting late rent payments a few times but telling the tenant that it was in...
Many office building and shopping center owners focus on the terms of the lease itself, forgetting that pre-lease agreements leading up to the start of the tenant’s term can make or break the deal from the start. But what about a scenario where the lease term never actually starts? If a...
Many tenants need major improvements made in their space in order to accommodate their businesses. Franchisee tenants need space that looks a certain way, retail clothing stores need shelving, and restaurants might need built-in seating. This will probably be spelled out in the tenant...
Q: I signed a lease with a tenant who backed out of the deal shortly before moving into the space. The lease provided for a substantial tenant improvement allowance (TIA) because the building is new and needs not just the tenant’s...
Commercial tenants typically want the right to “go dark”—that is, stop operating while continuing to pay rent—if their businesses aren’t generating enough revenue. “Going dark” can save tenants the cost of stocking and staffing the space they rent. But...
Shutting down the electricity in a tenant’s space may become necessary at some point, either because of circumstances in the center or building, such as repairs or an upgrade to the electrical system, circumstances out of your control, such as an order from the utility company, or an...
