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Guides

Cash for Keys: How Lease Buyout Agreements Work

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Two people shaking hands while exchanging house keys in front of a suburban home

Eviction is expensive, stressful, and slow. For landlords, it can mean months of lost rent and thousands in legal fees. For tenants, it means a court record that makes future renting much harder. Cash for keys offers both sides a way out. Under a cash-for-keys agreement, the landlord pays the tenant a negotiated sum to … Read more

Section 8 Vouchers: Guide for Tenants and Landlords

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Well-kept suburban American house with front lawn in a residential neighborhood

The Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly called Section 8, helps more than two million American households afford rental housing. It is the federal government’s largest rental assistance program, and it works through a partnership between tenants, landlords, and local public housing agencies. Whether you are a renter hoping to qualify or a landlord considering whether … Read more

Rent Control vs Rent Stabilization: What’s the Difference?

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Classic New York City brick apartment buildings with fire escapes on a residential street

Rent control and rent stabilization sound like the same thing, and many people use the terms interchangeably. In the United States, though, they describe two different systems with different rules, different histories, and very different consequences for tenants and landlords. Understanding which system applies to your apartment matters. It determines how much your rent can … Read more

Exclusivity Clauses in Commercial Leases Explained

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Retail storefronts in a shopping center protected by commercial lease exclusivity clauses

Opening a specialty coffee shop in a shopping center, only to watch the landlord lease the space next door to a competing coffee chain, is a nightmare scenario for retail tenants. Exclusivity clauses exist to prevent exactly that. They restrict the landlord from leasing space in the same property to businesses that compete directly with … Read more

Relocation Clauses in Commercial Leases Explained

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Commercial office relocation in progress with moving boxes under a lease relocation clause

Imagine signing a ten-year lease for the perfect office suite, building it out to your specifications, then receiving a letter from your landlord: you are being moved to a different floor. Many tenants agree to relocation clauses without realizing what they have conceded. A relocation clause allows the landlord to move your business to different … Read more

Continuous Operation Clauses in Retail Leases

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Shoppers in a busy mall with open storefronts under continuous operation lease clauses

Most commercial tenants assume that as long as they pay rent, they can run their business however they like. In retail leases, that assumption is often wrong. Many shopping center leases include a continuous operation clause that requires you to keep your store open during specified hours, and closing your doors can trigger serious penalties. … Read more

Radius Clauses in Retail Leases Explained

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Aerial view of a suburban shopping center illustrating retail lease radius clause territory

If you operate a retail store in a shopping center, your lease may contain a restriction you have never heard of: a radius clause. This provision limits your ability to open another location within a certain distance of your current store, and violating it can cost you a significant amount of money. Radius clauses are … Read more