Drafting Tips
August 10, 2016
Rent acceleration clauses in commercial real estate leases are often the subject of contentious negotiations between the parties, and increasingly, the subject of review by courts when enforcement is challenged by tenants and guarantors.
Rent acceleration clauses protect the owner by providing it...
Feature
July 25, 2016
While the terms of commercial leases will vary to some degree depending on the owners, tenants, and types of businesses involved, most of the same items are on the agenda for negotiations. Renewal or expansion options, common area maintenance exclusions, use clauses, and assignment and subletting...
Drafting Tips
July 25, 2016
In a strong tenants’ market, you might find yourself fighting for good tenants that help the synergy at your center or serve as a destination spot that will draw and keep foot traffic. You may be forced to offer incentives, like a tenant improvement allowance (TIA) that’s bigger than...
Plugging Loopholes
July 25, 2016
You might think that if you sue a tenant that has stopped paying rent and abandoned or been evicted from its space, it’s only fair that the tenant pays you what it owes in damages. If you’re surprised to find out that some tenants end up paying only a fraction or even none of the...
Q & A
July 25, 2016
Q: After I sent a notice of default to a tenant and asked it to cure the default under the terms we had agreed on in the lease, the tenant claimed it hadn’t defaulted. There have been protracted discussions over the course of about two months about whether the tenant’s actions are a...
Owner Wins
July 25, 2016
Facts: Two guarantors agreed to be liable for rent payments under a lease for stationery store space. Shortly before the lease was to expire, the tenant and the owner of the shopping center where the store was located entered into an amendment, extending the lease term. The amendment provided that...
Feature
June 17, 2016
The right to be the only tenant in a shopping center or mall that sells a certain type of product or operates a certain type of business is highly valuable—and, therefore, very strategically negotiated. This right, which is given to the tenant in the exclusive use clause of its lease, can...
Q & A
June 17, 2016
Q: I’m trying to change the synergy at my shopping center to make it more high-end. In the process, I’ve decided to terminate the leases for some of the less upscale retailers there. I complied with the termination requirements in my lease with one of these tenants, but it refuses to...
Owner Loses
June 17, 2016
Facts: A tenant and owner negotiated a four-month lease for commercial space, with an option to renew on a month-to-month basis. The tenant failed to pay rent for two months in a row, but asked the owner to extend the lease for an additional month past the original lease term. The owner agreed to...
Feature
May 25, 2016
So they can enforce the lease terms they’ve negotiated with their tenants, office building and shopping center owners build remedies into their agreements. But even though an owner’s remedies can redress many situations, it still behooves you to give your tenant a strong incentive to...
