Lawyer for Commercial Lease

Are you starting a business and looking for space to rent as a storefront or office? If so, in most cases, you will be required to sign a commercial lease with the landlord of the rental unit.
Here we will review different types of Commercial leases.
Even after reading this information, we strongly advise that you have a Commercial Lease Lawyer or Contract Lawyer review your documents before you sign. As in many cases, a commercial lease, unlike a private residence lease, will require a long-term commitment such as five years or more.

Net Lease:

This option will stipulate that the renter (tenant) will pay a portion and, in some cases, all of the buildings’ overhead expenses. These expenses can include property taxes, insurance, and building maintenance.

Gross Lease or Full-Service Lease:

A gross lease will stipulate that the landlord is fully responsible for all expenses the building incurs during your length of stay. These building expenses mainly include property taxes, maintenance fees, insurance, and utilities. It is always best to have your Business or Contract Lawyer review this lease to confirm that you have no other financial responsibilities other than one rent payment per month. As with any lease, there can be hidden stipulations in any commercial lease.

Triple Net Lease (“Net Net Net”):

The tenant agrees to pay for all operating expenses of the building. In most situations, these responsibilities will include property taxes, maintenance fees, and insurance. This type of lease usually comes into play if a tenet is a sole renter in the entire building, and there are no other tenants involved to share monthly costs. For example, a restaurant that is a stand-alone building on the street with no other business or private residence space for rent at that address may fall under this type of business lease.

Modified Gross Lease:

You, the tenant, pay base rent. After the first year of the lease, you then pay a share of the building’s overhead. This share will be based on the square footage of the building you are occupying. For example, if the entire building has 10,000 square feet of rental space and you occupy 2500 square feet, you will be responsible for 25% of the building costs.

The Most Common Commercial Lease

For a free-standing commercial building, the most used lease is the triple net lease.

With no experience in renting space, you want to avoid pitfalls that an unexperienced renter may overlook at the time of signing a lease, and negotiate the best possible terms.
The first rule always seeks the advice and help of a lawyer who specializes in commercial leases. Your lawyer has the education, knowledge, and experience when dealing with such things. Your lawyer will thoroughly explain your financial duties within the contract as well as your rights as a tenant.

Commercial lease contracts can be complicated, and you do not want to find things out later that you had no idea of at the time of signing as you are now locked into the contract. Avoid mistakes by hiring a lawyer.

Look at where you are now and where you see your business growing in the next few years. Remember, the length of your lease contract will determine how much you can grow in terms of space if you plan to hire more employees in an office setting or do you plan to expand your line of products in a retail environment. Some people make the mistake of renting a space to large for their current needs as well as needs three years down the road. You do not want to sign a contract that limits your growth in the short, nor does it give you too much-unoccupied space that you are now paying.

My name is Jonathan Kleiman, and I specialize in Business Law. Under the umbrella of business falls contracts and commercial leases. I have reviewed, revised, and drafted commercial leases for small business clients to large corporate firms. My focus is on you, the tenant, to protect and advise you of any pitfalls that may be in your lease. Do not stress yourself out, trying to understand and make sense of a many-page contract. Contact me today for my help.
I offer free consultations in contract matters on business leases.

Conveniently located at 1235 Bay Street, Suite 700 in Toronto, I can be reached by phone at 416-554-1639 to set the best day and time for you to come in to see me.