Filed Under Guides
Use Clause Violations: Consequences for Tenants
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...
Lease Agreements
Understand every lease before you sign it. Plain English guides to clauses, deposits, renewals, and the terms that matter most.
Filed Under Guides
Change of Control Clauses in Commercial Leases
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...
Filed Under Guides
Assignment to Affiliates: What Leases Allow
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...
Filed Under Guides
Limiting a Personal Guarantee: Strategies That Work
A personal guarantee makes you personally responsible for a lease signed by your business. If the company cannot pay the rent, the landlord can come after your house,...
Filed Under Guides
Prepaid Rent: Pros, Cons, and Negotiation Tips
Prepaid rent means paying rent before it is due, sometimes months or even a full year in advance. Some tenants offer it voluntarily to win a competitive apartment...
Filed Under Guides
Letter of Credit as Lease Security Explained
A letter of credit is a bank's promise to pay. When used as lease security, it replaces or supplements the traditional cash security deposit with a financial instrument...
Filed Under Guides
Landlord’s Lien on Tenant Property Explained
A landlord's lien gives the landlord a legal claim against a tenant's personal property as security for unpaid rent. In plain terms, it can mean the landlord has...
Filed Under Guides
Limitation of Liability in Commercial Leases
A limitation of liability clause puts a ceiling on how much one party can owe the other. In commercial leases, these clauses are the landlord's favorite safety valve....
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Indemnification Clauses: Shifting Risk in Leases
Indemnification clauses decide who pays when something goes wrong. In a lease, an indemnity provision can shift the entire cost of a lawsuit, a property damage claim, or...
Filed Under Guides
Waiver of Subrogation: What It Means for Tenants
A waiver of subrogation is one of those lease clauses that looks like harmless legal boilerplate until a claim actually happens. It sits quietly in the insurance section...