What Are Common Pitfalls in Commercial Lease Agreements?

When you sign a commercial lease agreement, you’re making a commitment, and it’s very important to run your lease agreement past an experienced Las Vegas contracts attorney. An attorney will help you avoid pitfalls, including some of the most common included here.

Common Pitfalls in Commercial Leasing

Missing Clauses About Duration and Termination

If you have a long-term lease and no strong exit strategy, this can make your business inflexible. While you may wish to stay in the property for the indefinite future, it’s always wise to be able to get out if you need to. Make very sure that your lease doesn’t have an automatic renewal clause unless you want it to and find out if there are any penalties for early termination and what those penalties are. Any penalties, conditions, and renewal options should be fair and balanced.

Not Looking Carefully At the Terms

If you don’t carefully look at every lease term, or if you’re not familiar with some of the legal terminology, you could miss where there are hidden fees, vague renewal clause language, or terms related to maintenance responsibilities that actually put you on the hook for something you’re not expecting. Make sure that you fully understand how rent escalation will work, how common areas are maintained, and any subleasing restrictions.

Making Assumptions About Maintenance

Speaking of maintenance, this is an area where many pitfalls lie. Some commercial leases leave most of the maintenance with the landlord, some with the tenant, and most divide the responsibilities between the two. It’s important that you be very clear about what your responsibilities are, know exactly what your landlord is supposed to be taking care of so you can hold them to it, and confirm who’s responsible for the major things, like upkeep of the roof, plumbing, repairs, and HVAC concerns.

Ignoring Use Restrictions

Just because the landlord is willing to rent you space in a particular spot doesn’t mean that you can actually operate your business at that spot. You will need to check city zoning laws and building codes to make sure there are no restrictions for your intended use. Do not trust the landlord to know these things, and don’t assume that a landlord will let you out of the lease if you later find you can’t do business on that property.

Not Getting a Las Vegas Contracts Attorney’s Review

It’s always a mistake to sign any legal document without having an attorney look it over. Landlords are going to draft the lease in their own favor, but that doesn’t mean there’s not plenty of room to negotiate. You need to do that negotiation from a position of strength, however, and that means knowing exactly what all terms mean, clarifying anything ambiguous, and understanding the law. Your attorney’s job is to take care of this for you and protect you.

Before you sign a lease for a commercial property, get an experienced legal review from us at the Hutchings Law Group in Las Vegas, NV. 

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