Cover Two More Points in Health Care Tenant's Use Clause

In a recent article (“Insider Checklist: How to Control Health Care Tenant's Use of Space,” CLLI, April 2003, p. 4), we told you about nine points that you should include in the use clause of a health care tenant's lease. After reading that article, Chicago attorney Daniel J. Kopp told us that he typically covers two more points.

* Bar Misuse of Building's Restrooms

Kopp recommends that you control the health care tenant's use of restrooms in your building that are outside the health care tenant's space. They shouldn't be used as laboratories or medical waste storage areas, he says. These uses aren't consistent with a quality building. And if a tenant, your employee, or a visitor uses the restroom and becomes ill because of exposure to the health care tenant's medical waste, you could get in trouble.

To protect yourself and your building, make it clear in your lease that:

Restrooms aren't laboratories. Don't let the tenant or its employees and patients use the restrooms in your building that are outside the health care tenant's space as a laboratory to give urine samples, blood samples, or injections, or to conduct tests, or for any other medical purpose, says Kopp.

Restrooms aren't medical storage areas. You don't want the tenant or its employees or patients to store or dispose of any drugs, needles, syringes, or other medical equipment in the restrooms outside the health care tenant's space, says Kopp.

Depositing of medical waste in public restrooms is prohibited. Bar the tenant and its employees or patients from depositing drugs, medical wastes, chemicals, or other fluids in the restrooms located outside the health care tenant's space, says Kopp.

To set out these restrictions, add the following language to the health care tenant's lease, says Kopp:

Model Lease Language

Tenant shall neither use nor allow any of its employees, patients, or invitees to use any restroom in the Building located outside the Premises:

• a. For a laboratory or any laboratory purpose; for the giving of any urine, fecal, blood, or other specimens; for the giving of any injections or other treatments; or for any other medical or business purpose;

• b. For the storage or disposal of any drugs, medical waste, or medical equipment; or

• c. For the discharge or deposit of any drugs, medical waste, chemicals, or other business fluids, liquids, or materials.

* Bar Wearing of Medical Uniforms in Common Areas

Kopp also recommends that you bar the tenant's employees from wearing scrubs or lab coats in the common areas of your building. This is especially important in mixed-use buildings, he says. Medical attire might be contaminated by blood or other substances, which could pose a health hazard to other employees and visitors to your building, he warns. Plus some employees and visitors of other tenants with nonmedical businesses in the building may become upset, confused, or uncomfortable by unexpectedly seeing people in medical attire walking around the common areas, Kopp says. And if medical attire in the common areas is too pervasive, visitors may get the impression that the building is dominated by medical tenants. And that could scare prospective nonmedical tenants away from your building.

Model Lease Language

Tenant shall not allow its employees or contractors to enter the Common Areas in medical garb, such as “scrub” suits or lab coats.

CLLI Source

Daniel J. Kopp, Esq.: Partner, Schwartz, Cooper, Greenberger & Krauss, 180 N. La Salle St., Ste. 2700, Chicago, IL 60601; (312) 845-5440.