Online Alerts

Does Duty to Keep "In Good Repair" Require Tenant to Replace Roof?

February 27, 2024    

One of the most important aspects of any commercial lease is how it apportions responsibility for maintenance and repair of the leased premises, including the roof. Although there’s an infinite number of possible arrangements, tenants are generally expected to contribute to the costs of...

Does Email Notice of Nonrenewal Satisfy Lease Requirement for Notice by Certified Mail?

February 2, 2024    

Just about every lease includes a provision specifying the methods landlords and tenants must use to provide notice to each other. Deviations from notice requirements are a common source of litigation, especially when notice is required to exercise a purchase, renewal, or other lease option. We...

How to Calculate Annual CPI Rent Increases

January 2, 2024    

Even in this digital age where information abounds, calculating Consumer Price Index (CPI) rent escalations remains a challenge, and Insider commonly receives requests from users struggling with the issue. There’s a lot at stake. If your CPI calculations aren’t accurate, you...

Don't Fail to Specify Renewal Rent Amount or Process

December 5, 2023    

Not stating the specifics is likely to lead to two results, both of them negative.

 

 

Object Quickly If a Tenant Makes a Renewal Mistake

November 1, 2023    

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 Tenant's Implied Consent to Continually Operate

October 4, 2023    

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...

Don’t Let Uncooperative Tenants Undermine Property Redevelopment

September 5, 2023    

Redevelopment work is messy, noisy, and disruptive. And the results it produces may not be appealing to all tenants, especially to the extent it makes the shopping center substantially different and less favorable than the one the tenant thought it was committing to. For example, a tenant...

Verify Tenant Compliance with Environmental Laws

August 2, 2023    

Federal and state laws make property owners liable for environmental damage done by a tenant. That makes it imperative to verify that tenants comply with those laws. But a tenant may refuse to grant you access to inspect or perform environmental testing for that purpose. And without clear lease...

Avoiding Liability When One Tenant Violates Another's Exclusive

July 5, 2023    

Q: Two tenants at the shopping center I own are currently in a dispute about who has the right to sell a certain product. A toy store tenant signed a lease with an exclusive use clause that gives it the right to be the only tenant in the...

A Signed Letter of Intent Isn't a Binding Contract

June 5, 2023    

A signed letter of intent (LOI) is often the preliminary step to a commercial lease. The LOI typically requires the sides to keep the deal confidential while outlining the crucial terms of the lease they both ultimately intend to sign. However, while it may feel like a commitment, the LOI is...

Is Tenant Liable to Landlord for Subtenant’s Lease Violation?

May 1, 2023    

Tenants are generally allowed to transfer their lease interests to a third party as long as the landlord is notified and provides consent in advance. The two basic ways to structure such arrangements are as:

Don't Let New Tenant's Exclusive Conflict with Old Tenants' Sales Rights

April 3, 2023    

Offering an exclusive can help you lure new tenants. But offering the wrong kind of exclusive can cost you a renewal. SNAFUs are apt to occur when you use a common form of exclusive stating that the tenant is the only tenant in the shopping center that’s allowed to sell a particular...