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Don't Let Tenant Estoppel Certificate Delay Jeopardize Your Sale or Loan

February 27, 2024    
Here’s how to motivate tenants to sign estoppel certificates promptly.    
Drafting Tips

Give Desirable Tenant Early Termination Rights for Noxious Odors

February 27, 2024    
But set clear limitations.     Commercial leases typically require tenants to refrain from creating nuisances that interfere with other tenants’ use and enjoyment of their property. The problem is that “nuisance” is often in the eye of the beholder. While they might not...
Owner Wins

Tenant in Chapter 11 Can't Assume Lease that Expired Before Bankruptcy Filing

February 27, 2024    
What Happened: Wracked by COVID-19 financial struggles, a restaurant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy while continuing to operate its restaurant in Chicago’s prestigious Magnificent Mile District as a debtor-in-possession with hopes of assuming the lease after being discharged. But having...
Owner Wins

Failure to Satisfy Contractor’s Lien Costs Franchise Tenant Nearly $1 Million

February 27, 2024    
What Happened: After receiving a notice to file claim from a contractor who didn’t get paid for fire prevention work performed on a Boston Market restaurant, the landlord notified the tenant leasing the property that it was in default of the lease and gave it 30 days to cure. The tenant...
Owner Loses

Did Sewer Backups Give Tenant Right to Terminate for “Untenantability”?

February 27, 2024    
What Happened: Blockages in sewer pipelines located outside the property caused a constant stream of sewer backups inside a tenant’s store. Eventually, the tenant decided that enough was enough and vacated the premises. When the landlord sued for unpaid rent, the tenant claimed that the sewer...
Feature

Set "Reasonable" Time, Place, Manner Rules for Free Speech Activities at Center

January 30, 2024    
Balance your need to maintain order with the rights of political groups.     This November’s presidential election may be the most volatile in recent memory. In the months ahead, political groups and protestors may demand access to the common areas of your shopping center for...
Drafting Tips

Get Right to Use Base Year Tax Reductions to Calculate Tenants’ Tax Increase Payments

January 30, 2024    
Like many landlords, your lease may contain a tax escalation clause requiring the tenant to pay its share of any real estate tax increases that occur during the lease term. These increases are often measured off a base year, typically the first year of the lease. However, pegging future tax...
Owner Wins

Not Negotiating Renewal Rent Increase Doesn’t Make Landlord Guilty of “Unclean Hands”

January 30, 2024    
What Happened: A shopping center sent an email asking a restaurant tenant to renew its lease at an increased rent. The tenant signed the attached amended lease without reading it. Five years later, it vacated the property and stopped paying rent. The landlord served the tenant with a notice of...
Owner Loses

Tenant Not Liable for Accident in Parking Lot Under Landlord’s Control

January 30, 2024    
What Happened: An exterminator working for Best Buy suffered serious injury after slipping and falling in the store’s icy parking lot. He sued Best Buy and the landlord that owned the property for negligence. Best Buy denied responsibility for maintaining the parking lot in safe condition...
Owner Wins

Oral Lease Modification Doesn’t Get Good Guy Guarantor Off the Hook

January 30, 2024    
What Happened: The landlord sued a dry-cleaning tenant for nearly $200,000 in damages, including $46,733 in unpaid rent that accrued up to the time the tenant vacated. It also went after the good guy guarantor that “unconditionally, irrevocably and as a primary obligor” guaranteed the...