Dos & Don'ts

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If you use a standard lease form that includes blanks for listing appropriate information, don’t leave any of the blanks empty. If you do and end up in a dispute with a tenant, you open the door to the court’s interpreting the meaning of the blank space using “parol” or external evidence in the tenant’s favor. And that can end up costing you big bucks.

If you use a standard lease form that includes blanks for listing appropriate information, don’t leave any of the blanks empty. If you do and end up in a dispute with a tenant, you open the door to the court’s interpreting the meaning of the blank space using “parol” or external evidence in the tenant’s favor. And that can end up costing you big bucks.

It’s important to send tenants and other parties all notices the lease requires you to provide even if you think they already know the information the notice contains. Your supposition about the tenant’s knowledge may be 100 percent correct. But even if the required notification would come as “old news,” failure to provide it may endanger your rights under the lease.  

Don’t rely on “implied” covenants that aren’t expressly stated in the lease if you want retail tenants to continuously operate from their space. There’s a possibility that a court will find that such a covenant exists in limited circumstances, such as when the lease requires a long-term tenant to pay a minimal base rent but substantial percentage rent while limiting the tenant’s use and ability to assign and sublet and barring competi...

If a tenant exercises a renewal option without following all the procedures or requirements set out in the renewal clause, object right away. Failure to speak now may mean that you’ll forever have to hold your peace. That’s because a court might determine that in keeping silent you evidenced your intent to give up the right to enforce the renewal clause’s original terms.

Don’t rely on “implied” covenants that aren’t expressly stated in the lease if you want retail tenants to continuously operate from their space. There’s a possibility that a court will find that such a covenant exists in limited circumstances, such as when the lease requires a long-term tenant to pay a minimal base rent but substantial percentage rent while limiting the tenant’s use and ability to assign and sublet and barring competi...

When negotiating the terms of a work letter with a tenant, don’t just agree to do a particular item of work “to code,” without listing any specifics or limitations. When not properly defined or limited, the phrase “to code” can be the source of confusion, miscommunication, and litigation.   

In these tough times, landlords need to find ways to turn lemons into lemonade. One example is considering whether the lemon of the tenant who’s paying below-market rent might yield sweet lemonade in the form of a reduction in your property tax assessment. This recipe has worked for many property owners, and it might just work for you.