Be especially diligent about maintaining and repairing elevators in your building. Accidents caused by malfunctioning elevators may expose you to greater liability than typical accidents on your property. That's because the “reasonableness” standard doesn't apply; rather, a...
If you don't maintain any control over your property, don't assume that fact will shield you from liability for an accident. It is uncommon for out-of-possession owners to win liability cases with this argument. For example, if you are aware of a dangerous condition or there is an...
Commercial owners have much to learn from the case law issued by U.S. federal and state courts over the past year. The biggest challenge for owners seems to be drafting clear lease language, which can protect them from lawsuits filed by tenants arguing that they have rights the owner didn't...
Even if you believe your municipality is responsible for maintaining the sidewalk outside your building, it's a good idea to keep the sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition for pedestrians and exercise “reasonable care” to guard them from injury. An injury on the sidewalk may...
Don't assume that the tenant—and not you or your property manager—is responsible for providing safety devices, such as ladders, to contractors that tenants have hired to do work at your building. If your state law allows you to designate in the lease that the tenant has this...
An inspector with the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspection (LandI) has been charged with extortion under the Hobbs Act. U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger announced the indictment, which alleges that Kenneth Gassman used his position with LandI in an effort to compel a commercial...
Q Several of the tenants in my shopping center have been displaying political signs supporting certain candidates in their windows. Other tenants are upset about this and have asked me to remove the signs, and prevent candidates from campaigning...
Renting to a tenant on a percentage rent basis can be rewarding if the tenant operates a profitable business—and accurately reports its gross sales. The higher the profit, the higher the amount you can collect from the tenant. But if the tenant underreports its sales, you'll get paid...
If one of your tenants has defaulted on its lease or damaged its space, you know the importance of having both a security deposit amount large enough to cover expensive problems and a clause in the lease that will protect you from having to spend your own money rectifying them. But be...
A June 2010 study, “Opening the Door to Green Building,” revealed a major discrepancy between the actual cost of building green and the perceived cost of building green among commercial property owners and developers.
Your lease with a retail tenant probably gives it certain special rights and remedies. For instance, the lease may include a cotenancy clause that lets the tenant abate its rent if you don't replace another tenant—typically, an anchor—when it goes dark. Or it may include an...
Rep. Walt Minnick's (D., Idaho) plan to introduce legislation that would authorize the U.S. Treasury to provide as much as $15 billion to $25 billion in guarantees on new loans to the commercial real estate sector is gaining momentum in both chambers of Congress.
