Return To Article List

Six Common Roadblocks for Unwary Commercial Tenants

Negotiated: Rattner Guides Clients Through Common Traps

Attorneys play a major part in any business acquisition; a Buyer’s counsel will guide them through everything, from the purchase agreement to the closing. Jennifer Rattner of Abrahams, Kaslow, & Cassman provides her expert opinion on common traps that she has negotiated on behalf of her clients.

No matter how small a space or how short a term, a lease can trap even the most seasoned business tenant into unexpected and significant liabilities. So, whether you are taking assignment of an existing commercial lease or entering into a new commercial lease, you should be aware of the following common traps when reviewing and negotiating a commercial lease:

  1. Maintenance and Repair Obligations.  Watch out for provisions that impose tenant maintenance and repair obligations that are out of line given the nature of the lease.  For example, a three-year tenant should be obligated to perform only ordinary maintenance, not maintenance, repair, or replacement of the building’s roof, HVAC systems, or other systems.
  1. Overly Broad Indemnity Obligations.  Indemnity is an agreement to pay for certain losses and damages suffered by another party. Generally, the tenant’s indemnity obligation should be limited to anything that happens in the premises and anything the tenant and its agents, employees, contractors, and invitees do outside the premises. Make sure that the tenant’s indemnity obligation excludes negligent and willful acts and omissions of the landlord and its agents, employees, other tenants, and contractors.
  1. Re-measurement Rights. Landlords often reserve the right to re-measure the premises and/or the building, each of which the tenant should resist. Re-measuring the premises or the building will impact the percentage share of expenses (e.g., common area maintenance fees, taxes, and insurance) the tenant is required to pay each month, since a landlord will only re-measure when it benefits the landlord.

 

"No matter how small a space, or how short a term, a lease can trap even the most seasoned business tenant into unexpected and significant liabilities."

 

  1. Subordination without Nondisturbance.  Watch out for subordination provisions, which require the tenant to subordinate the lease to an existing or future lender’s lien, without a nondisturbance clause.  A nondisturbance clause ensures that the lease between the tenant and the landlord will continue under any circumstance (e.g., foreclosure). Unless the lease provides that the tenant’s occupancy will not be disturbed if the landlord’s lender forecloses on the building, the lender will likely have the right to terminate the tenant’s lease.  Every tenant should ask for nondisturbance protection.
  1. No or Limited Cure Periods.  Default language in a lease may not require the landlord to give notice of a claimed default and may not permit the tenant a period in which to cure the default. A tenant will want both notice and a cure period.  For monetary defaults, a reasonable cure period is five days after notice from the landlord. For non-monetary defaults, the practical ideal is a 30-day cure period after notice from the landlord, with an ability to reasonably extend such period if the tenant is diligently working to cure the default.
  1. Damage Penalties.  Be careful of overreaching damage penalties.  For example, a landlord should not be allowed to recover the full rent, plus a separate amount for any free rent, tenant improvement allowance, or other allowances, all of which are amortized over the lease term and are thus already recovered if the landlord recovers the full rent.

Make sure to hire a knowledgeable attorney to avoid these, and other common traps lurking in commercial leases.

Also in This Issue

Thinking of Selling?
When selecting an M&A firm, please use the following Scorecard: click here for our M&A Scorecard

The Firm makes no warranties or representation in consideration to the information provided above. All communication regarding this business must occur directly with The Firm Advisors, LLC. The Firm is not a real estate brokerage and does not sell real estate. The Firm solely advises on exit strategy.