Commercial leases are very different from residential leases in that the courts allow the parties of a commercial lease to steer their own course. The court views commercial leasing as 2 sophisticated parties who choose to enter into an agreement and therefore what is stated in the contract will almost allow be enforced by the courts. This means it is important to make sure the language is clear and interpreted in your favor.
If you are a Landlord with a commercial space that can be rented out for retail, a store, a warehouse, an office, a bar, a restaurant, a coffee shop, a salon or any other commercial purpose then you should have an experienced attorney draft and negotiate the lease. A lease will last for many years and there can be many unforeseen circumstances to occur that an experienced leasing attorney would have covered in their lease agreement.
An experienced attorney can draft and negotiate numerous provisions that could potentially be extremely important.
A few common
examples are:
security deposit provisions,
properly drafted guarantee of the lease,
properly drafted default provision,
insurance provisions,
construction clauses,
assignments and subleases,
renewal options regarding defaults,
early termination clauses and many other provisions that often come into play down the road.
One excellent commercial lease provision that gives strength to the landlord is called a Holdover provision. A holdover provision is when the lease expires but the tenant refuses to leave we negotiate a holdover rate which is a higher rent during the extended time period. This holdover rate is negotiated in the initial lease and we can often negotiate a 3x or a 2x holdover period which means for each month the tenant remains after expiration of the lease they are liable for 2x or 3x the last monthly rent. Provisions such as these give a tremendous advantage to the landlord to protect themselves. A commercial Lease is typically an agreement that will last 5-30 years therefore it is advisable to obtain an experienced attorney who can draft and negotiate a commercial lease that is in your favor.
My offices has a unique perspective in that we are eviction attorneys as well as leasing attorney therefore we know what issues typically come up in court and we are able to draft and negotiate to protect our client.
Feel free to contact my office at 718-938-9732 immediately to discuss how to protect yourself and proceed.
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