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Violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can be costly for commercial real estate owners. It’s a complicated law with nuances that create pitfalls for owners. While the ADA is detailed in terms of spelling out under what circumstances a building’s or a tenant’s space must be altered to make it accessible to people with disabilities, it doesn’t say who is responsible for making and paying for these alterations. That is, are owners or te...

The design, practicality, and price of interior retail space are big ticket items when a tenant is deciding to lease space in a shopping center. But what a tenant can get and for what price doesn’t matter if other elements at the center don’t work for the tenant. Just as landlords like certainty on their side of the deal—and, accordingly, try to use lease forms that achieve that goal—tenants want to make sure that the crucial items they fought fo...

The number of violent crimes taking place at public venues in recent years has skyrocketed, with the Oct. 1 mass shooting of concert-goers in Las Vegas being the biggest attack in United States history. Owners of public spaces are reevaluating their security, some by asking outside security firms to review their security systems and make recommendations for improvement.

When you think about settling a dispute with a tenant without going to court, arbitration as an alternate dispute resolution method might immediately come to mind. That’s because arbitration is widely known and talked about in commercial real estate. But before you pursue arbitration, consider resolving a dispute by submitting the dispute to mediation.

Owning a large retail or office building property can be lucrative. After all, if the rent rate is based on the square footage that a tenant rents, a vast space has the potential to pull in more money than a small one. But profiting from the sheer size of your property isn’t a given. To collect rent, you need a tenant, and if you can’t find one, you’ll have vacant space on your hands. If you’ve thought about what you can do with that space, consi...

Mixed-use properties have become ubiquitous in most areas of the country. Often, they make the most of a property’s layout, especially in tight urban neighborhoods—providing easy-to-access commercial space on a first floor and residential units on the floors above so no space is wasted. And if leases are drafted that protect landlords from both typical lease issues as well as some limited mixed-use-specific angles, they can be financially advantageous.

The goal when leasing to tenants at your center—and especially those that pay percentage rent—is to pick businesses that draw the most customers. If a product or service is a “favorite” of a customer, there’ll be repeat business. For this reason, leases with nationally branded retail franchise tenants can be a real boon to a shopping center. A recognizable coffee, donut, or hamburger restaurant can become a great traffic generator that help...

With the failure rate of new restaurants hovering around 59 percent in the first three years of opening, it’s not surprising that restaurant owners are trying to come up with a hook—a theme, a specific type of ambiance, or discounts for certain groups or time periods in the day or evening. A trend that has gained so much momentum that it’s no longer a novel concept—and is somewhat expected in “cute” or bustling neighborhoods—is ...

At first, a guaranty from a tenant that you’re unsure about seems like a great safety net. Another party will take over the tenant’s lease obligations if it fails to do so itself, so you won’t be left on the hook trying to mitigate the financial or other damage. In isolation, a guaranty with no limits can work well. But you’re likely to find tenants and their guarantors demanding certain limits on guaranties. There are several common limits they ...

In theory, a sublet seems easy: When you let a tenant sublet its space, the subtenant pays the tenant its rent due under the sublease, and the tenant pays you its rent or percentage rent due under the lease. While that’s the way sublet scenarios are designed and expected to work, you can’t count on the tenant carrying out its part of the bargain. After you’ve consented to a sublet, the tenant could decide not, or be unable, to pay you—even if it&...