Owner Wins
June 19, 2015
Facts: The owner of retail space sent a notice informing its tenant that it was in breach of the lease because it hadn’t installed a fire alarm system. The tenant refused to install a system, and the owner was fined by the city. The owner filed a petition with a court to evict the tenant. A...
Owner Wins
June 19, 2015
Facts: A retail tenant was required by its lease to get the owner’s consent for all assignments and subleases. The tenant defaulted on its lease by, among other violations, assigning without permission the lease to its separate corporate entity, which later subleased the space to a jewelry...
Feature
May 27, 2015
by Jonathan Newman, Esq.
One thing you do not like to hear when negotiating a commercial lease agreement is that the tenant must have possession of the space by some important date, known as the “drop-dead date.” Why? Because the tenant usually wants the landlord to suffer a variety of...
Drafting Tips
May 27, 2015
Commercial real estate lease assignments might seem straightforward for both office and retail space: A tenant that wishes to leave its space finds another tenant willing to take over the space and the original tenant’s lease. And, typically, the lease’s assignment clause will dictate...
Owner Wins
May 27, 2015
Facts: A retail tenant’s lease provided that a certain number of parking spaces would be available outside the space it rented. The lease provisions specified that the tenant would let the owner know at the beginning of each month how many parking spots it would need. The owner would charge...
Owner Wins
May 27, 2015
Facts: An office building owner rented space to a media company. The tenant was permitted to vacate the space early, in the third year of the lease, provided that it gave 90 days’ written notice, returned the keys to the owner, and paid any outstanding rent and other charges. After two years...
Owner Wins
May 27, 2015
Facts: The owner of space leased by a kitchen and bath product retailer locked the tenant out of its space after it paid partial rent for several months and then stopped paying rent altogether. The tenant claimed that it was relieved of the obligation to pay rent after the owner locked the tenant...
Feature
April 27, 2015
By Glenn S. Demby, Esq.
One of the key economic questions any commercial lease must address is whether the tenant is responsible for paying real estate taxes on the property and, if so, how much. More often than not, the tenant does have tax liabilities, but because of the money involved, the issue...
Plugging Loopholes
April 27, 2015
Standard commercial net leases require the tenants to pay a pro-rata share of property taxes on an office building or shopping center based on how much of the space each occupies. As a result, when improvements cause the property’s tax assessment to go up, the big tenants pay the lion’s...
Winners & Losers
April 27, 2015
Standard commercial net leases require tenants to pay not just rent but a proportionate share of the owner’s property taxes. Of course, property taxes are apt to fluctuate over time. Accordingly, owners typically include an “escalation” or “adjustment” clause in the...
