I am looking for new
office space for my agency. One prospective landlord has given me a
proposed lease to review.
What kinds of legal traps should I look out for, and what
clauses should I try to add to protect my interests?
A: Your ability to negotiate lease clauses is
largely dependent on the market. Today, in most parts of the
country, landlords cannot afford to be very demanding.
More often than not, they will agree to delete certain
antitenant terms and add some important legal protections for the
prospective tenant.
Here are five changes that you should consider trying to make to
the typical office lease. If the landlord's proposed lease already
gives you any of these rights, then count yourself lucky, but ask
for the rest of them:
• Try to specify that if your rent is more than five days late,
the landlord cannot automatically terminate the lease but instead
must give you a 10-day written notice and opportunity to pay the
rent during those 10 days.
• Try to delete any clauses enabling the landlord to lock you
out if you are in default on the rent. In most states, such
self-help measures are legal for office leases.
• Try to specify that if the lease is terminated due to your
failure to pay rent, the landlord cannot passively let the space
stay idle and then hold you liable for all the remaining unpaid
months but must instead use its best efforts to find a new tenant
as quickly as possible.
• Whenever the landlord's consent is required before you can
redecorate or alter the office, or before you can sublease or
assign the lease, try to specify that such consent will not be
unreasonably withheld by the landlord.
• Finally, try to talk the landlord out of any personal
guarantees. That way, if you go out of business, the landlord
cannot sue you personally if only your corporation is a party to
the lease.
Mark Pestronk is a Fairfax, Va.-based attorney specializing
in travel law. He answers your questions in the TravelWeekly.com Legal Ease forum.
To contact Mark directly, e-mail him at [email protected]