Adam Bothun

Your lease is ending in 60 days. You installed custom lighting, built a reception area, and painted the walls in your brand colors. Now the landlord says you must rip it all out and return the space to a concrete shell, at your expense. You assumed normal wear and tear would cover it. That assumption … Read more

The city announces it is taking your building through eminent domain to widen the highway. Your lease still has four years to run, and your landlord just received a condemnation award worth millions. Do you get any of that money? Can you terminate your lease? Most tenants discover the answers for the first time after … Read more

An exclusivity clause promises that the landlord will not lease space in the same property to a competing business. For a specialty retailer or a medical practice, that promise can be the reason the location works. When the landlord breaks it by signing a direct competitor, the tenant’s sales and the value of the lease … Read more

A radius clause stops a retail tenant from opening another location within a certain distance of the leased premises. Shopping center landlords use these clauses to keep the tenant’s sales, and the percentage rent that follows them, concentrated in one place. For growing retailers, the clause can block expansion plans across an entire metro area. … Read more

Businesses evolve, and leased space must sometimes evolve with them. A tenant that signed a lease for a bookstore may want to add a cafe, or an office tenant may want to open a customer showroom. When the lease restricts the permitted use, the tenant needs the landlord’s approval before making the change. Requesting a … Read more

A use clause defines what a tenant may and may not do in leased space. It might limit the premises to general office use, retail sales of certain goods, or a specific restaurant concept. When a tenant strays outside those boundaries, the violation can trigger serious consequences, from cure notices to lease termination. Many tenants … Read more

A change of control clause treats a shift in a tenant’s ownership as if it were an assignment of the lease. If someone buys a controlling stake in your company, the lease may require the landlord’s consent just as though you had transferred the lease itself. For businesses that may be acquired, this clause deserves … Read more

Most commercial leases restrict a tenant’s ability to assign the lease to another party. But nearly all of them make an exception for affiliates: parent companies, subsidiaries, and sister companies under common ownership. These permitted transfers let businesses restructure without asking the landlord for consent. The affiliate exception sounds simple, yet disputes over it are … Read more