Commercial Leases

Your retail lease is one of the most important and valuable assets of your business.  Its terms –and not only the rent to be paid – can have a dramatic effect on the profitability of your business.  Lease provisions must be carefully drafted and reviewed in order to protect this valuable asset.  Here are some critical, and sometimes overlooked, issues and questions Bernstein Redo & Savitsky P.C. can help you with:

• Is the lease use clause broad enough to encompass possible changes to a business
• What rent concession period  do you need to allow for the time required for license approvals and a build-out
• Should the lease have a liquor license contingency clause, and what should it say
• Does the rent concession clause have a clawback in the event of a default.  If so, how does that impact a good guy guaranty
• What if the landlord defaults on its mortgage; how do you make sure that the tenant is protected
• What should the assignment provision say; what should be the standard and conditions of approval
• What should you be careful about in the default provision, what are the pitfalls
• How do you make sure you protect your lease in the event of a default
• Make sure you have the right to install venting for cooking facilities
• What repair obligations do you have, and what about structural repairs
• Protect your lease in the event there is a fire or other casualty
• What are your obligations at the end of the lease
• What if there are municipal violations against the premises, what if you cannot pull your work permits
• What should a good guy guaranty  be limited to, how are you protected and your liability limited

These are example of some of the many questions and issues that must be addressed in drafting and negotiating a commercial lease.  And since you will live with this asset for many years, you have to make sure you have a lawyer that gets it right so that you can focus on your business and maximizing your profits.

Bernstein Redo & Savitsky P.C. attorneys have negotiated hundreds of commercial leases for hospitality businesses as well as for dry uses, and has lectured extensively on the subject.