Landlords routinely request estoppel certificates from their tenants. Tenant estoppel certificates are signed statements requested by third parties (typically lenders or prospective purchasers of commercial real estate) in order to verify certain terms between the current tenant and landlord of the commercial real estate property, things that cannot be ascertained…
A Tenant Improvement Allowance (TIA) is a landlord incentive designed to assist new tenants with the build-out of their space. Build-outs are improvements to leased space to make the space usable for a particular tenant’s needs. Whether or not a landlord will offer a TIA and how much the landlord…
Most commercial leases in California are triple net leases. With a triple net lease, tenants contribute to the payment of the landlord’s operating expenses, such as building insurance, taxes, repairs, maintenance, and utilities in addition to base rent. Typically, these expenses are referred to as Common Area Maintenance Expenses (CAMs).…
It is more common than one might imagine for a commercial tenant to pack up and leave the premises rather than negotiate with its landlord for lease termination. This is most often because the business owner/tenant is far behind in rent and doesn’t believe that there are any other options…
There are a myriad of provisions in commercial leases that benefit either the lessor, lessee, or, in certain circumstances, both. As the provisions contained in a commercial lease can drastically impact the rights and obligations of the parties, it is of particular importance that each party effectively negotiate its position…
Commercial lease clauses can significantly impact the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. Subordination, non-disturbance and attornment (“SNDA”) provisions are standard in commercial leasing and they have a substantial affect on the nature of the relationship between the landlord’s current and future tenants. As such, consideration of such clauses…
In today’s commercial real estate market, the possibility that your landlord will declare bankruptcy is very real making it important that tenants are aware of their rights. When a landlord declares bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, the bankruptcy trustee (the person or entity placed in charge of…
There are a number of provisions that can be written into a commercial lease that benefit either the lessor, lessee, or, in certain circumstances, both. Although commercial lease terms are important to every business, they are of particular importance to restaurant owners where low profit margins require added attention to…
A triple net lease is a type of commercial lease agreement requiring tenants to pay the property’s operating expenses such as utilities, taxes, insurance, and maintenance fees in addition to base rent. Essentially, each tenant is responsible for their own repair and maintenance and each tenant further pays a pro…
A waiver of subrogation clause is one of the most important provisions in California commercial leasing. It’s beneficial to both the landlord and tenant, particularly when it comes to insurance issues. Yet this type of clause tends to be misunderstood and/or generally overlooked because landlords and tenants see the terms…