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Lease Guaranty vs. Suretyship: What's the Difference & Why It Matters

July 20, 2022    

There are some tenants that you know will have the assets necessary to pay their rent every month. And then there are the more financially risky ones. When leasing to these businesses, it’s advisable to get a more financially stable third party to sign an agreement backing the tenant...

Get 10 Legal Protections When Giving Tenants a Right of First Offer

June 23, 2022    

Offering ROFOs is a great way to attract flourishing businesses. But it comes at a price.

 

Moving to a different building can be costly and disruptive. Accordingly, tenants that are growing rapidly may seek rights to expand within the building in case they run out of space...

Don't Use 'To Code' as Sole Work Letter Standard

June 23, 2022    

When negotiating the terms of a work letter with a tenant, don’t just agree to do a particular item of work “to code,” without listing any specifics or limitations. When not properly defined or limited, the phrase “to code” can be the source of confusion,...

Consider Seeking Lower Tax Assessment If Tenant Pays Below-Market Rent

June 23, 2022    

In these tough times, landlords need to find ways to turn lemons into lemonade. One example is considering whether the lemon of the tenant who’s paying below-market rent might yield sweet lemonade in the form of a reduction in your property tax assessment. This recipe has worked for many...

Set 11 Conditions for Consenting to Shopping Center Assignments and Subleases

May 23, 2022    

As retail and restaurant businesses contract and struggle to survive, many shopping center tenants are looking for ways to get out of their leases. One common exit strategy is for tenants to assign their lease interest or sublease some or all of the leased space to a third party. Tenants are...

Don't Get Burned When Letting Tenants Contract Their Space

April 25, 2022    

Here’s a four-phase strategy for drafting a lease amendment letting a tenant contract its space.

 

In a post-pandemic world where a greater volume of work and business will be carried out remotely, many tenants will need the flexibility to not only expand but also...

How to Negotiate and Structure a Lease Buy-Out

March 22, 2022    

The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the need for landlords and tenants to be flexible and work together to find solutions to leases that have become disadvantageous. One approach is to enter into a buy-out agreement allowing the tenant to end the lease early in exchange for an agreed-to sum of...

Set Limits on Retail Tenant’s Right to Terminate When Anchor Departs

February 20, 2022    

Even before the pandemic, shopping center tenants were insisting on the right to terminate their lease in the event the anchor tenant leaves. Giving in to these demands may be unavoidable when tenants are a part of a national chain or otherwise enjoy negotiating leverage. But you should also...

‘Best Efforts’ vs. ‘Commercially Reasonable Efforts’: What the Difference Is and Why It Matters

February 20, 2022    

Chances are, your standard lease form includes one or more provisions requiring the tenant to exercise some kind of “efforts” to achieve a desired but uncertain result or outcome.

Limit Holdover Rent Cuts to Short Holdovers

February 20, 2022    

Getting tenants to leave their space when the lease ends can be a difficult and costly proposition. For one thing, you may have to initiate an eviction suit to get the tenant out. And if you’ve already re-rented the space, holdovers expose you to the risk of being sued by the new tenant...

Make Tenant Pay Extra Security If Its Guarantor Has Financial Problems

January 26, 2022    

In these uncertain times, securing rock solid assurances against tenant default is of paramount importance. The challenge is great. COVID-19 has left many tenants strapped for cash and unable to scrape together a security deposit. As a result, landlords are having to ask for third-party...

Don't Rely on Tenant's Efforts to Re-Rent Vacant Space

January 26, 2022    

Don’t ease up on your efforts to re-rent space that a tenant has vacated early—even if the tenant is doing its own search for somebody to take over its rent obligations. While spending your own time and money might seem like a needless reduplication of effort, sitting back and...