Feature

How to Negotiate and Create an Effective Tenant Relocation Clause

September 27, 2023    
We’ll give you seven key terms to put into your relocation clause.  
Drafting Tips

Give Tenants a Limited Deadline to Sue You for Lease Violations

September 27, 2023    
Grudges are part of any personal or business relationships. It’s a lesson that most landlords learn when tenants bring or threaten lawsuits over old grievances in a bid to get out of their lease, stall an eviction, or otherwise increase their leverage over you in a current dispute. Defending...
Dos & Don'ts

Object Quickly If a Tenant Makes a Renewal Mistake

September 27, 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...
Owner Loses

Defaulting Tenant Not Liable for Unpaid Rent Beyond Lease Term

September 27, 2023    
What Happened: A construction materials tenant that admitted to not paying rent and abandoning the premises had no problem with the default judgment entered in the landlord’s favor but claimed that the sought-after award of 47 months’ rent was excessive, noting that the lease clearly...
Owner Wins

Tenant Can't Keep Paying Reduced Rent After Lease Modification Agreement Expires

September 27, 2023    
What Happened: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a landlord agreed to reduce a retail tenant’s rent from $7,147 to $3,500. Signed in November 2020, the agreement was retroactive to May 2020 to March 2021, at which time rent would revert back to the original amount. However, the tenant...
Owner Loses

Lease Clause Doesn't Eliminate Landlord’s Duty to Mitigate Damages

September 27, 2023    
What Happened: A restaurant subtenant admitted to defaulting on its obligation to pay rent and vacating the premises. But it objected to the $689,554.94 that the trial court awarded because the landlord didn’t mitigate its damages by seeking to relet the space to another tenant. We have no...
Feature

Minimize Tenant Interference with Shopping Center Redevelopment

August 29, 2023    
Don’t wait for a project to begin to address the issue. Put key redevelopment rights in the lease.  
Pop Quiz

Are Internet Service Disruptions Grounds for Constructive Eviction?

August 29, 2023    
In this digital age, significant disruption to internet service can inflict massive damage to a business. If that business belongs to one of your tenants, you might find yourself the target of a lawsuit for breach of lease; breakdowns in internet service may also be a defense relieving tenants of...
Dos & Don'ts

Don't Rely on Tenant's Implied Consent to Continually Operate

August 29, 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...
Owner Wins

City Tenant’s Ban on Guns at the Property ≠ Second Amendment Violation

August 29, 2023    
What Happened: A nonprofit ran a multi-day music festival on recreational space it leased from the city. Two attendees who purchased tickets to the event were denied entry because they were carrying guns in violation of music festival rules banning attendees from having weapons while inside the...