Commercial Office and Retail Leases: Tenant and Landlord Considerations and Key Provisions in a Volatile Market
Permitted Use; Rights to Rent Abatement and Termination; Assignment; Remedies
Recording of a 90-minute premium CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will prepare counsel for commercial tenants for leasing issues unique to office and retail leases and best practices to protect tenant interests, as well as provide insight into the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on landlord and tenant rights, obligations, and relationships. The panel will examine and compare office and retail leasing transactions and identify their key similarities and essential differences, with an overlay of how the pandemic's aftermath continues to bear on those transactions.
Outline
- Overview
- Current state of the market
- Drafting rent relief lease amendments
- Rights to rent abatement and lease termination
- Letters of intent
- Credit and security under leases
- Tenant space planning considerations
- Build-out of leased premises, determination of commencement date, and work letters
- Use of premises, exclusive use and radius provisions, continuous operation and kick-out clauses, hours of operation
- Responsibility for real estate taxes and operating expenses/common area maintenance; operation expense exclusions and caps
- Tenant self-help rights
- Indemnity provisions
- Assignment and sublet provisions; SNDAs, permitted transfers, and estoppel certificates
- Real estate tax consideration
- Alterations
- Casualty and condemnation
- Final thoughts and practical considerations
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- How have the after-effects of COVID-19 continued to influence retail and office leasing?
- What type of rent relief structures are we seeing?
- What are the specific areas of concern when drafting retail and office leases?
- How much should a tenant negotiate an LOI?
- What are some common tools to provide tenants with flexibility in meeting future space planning needs?
- How can counsel best balance specificity and flexibility in classifying the tenant's business when negotiating exclusive rights?
- What are typical operating expense exclusions?
- What are the potential gross sales carve-outs when rent is based on the tenant's revenue?
- What basic indemnity issues should tenants be aware of?
- How should tenant and landlord obligations be defined concerning operating expenses, maintenance, and repairs?
- What exit strategies should tenants consider upfront in a lease negotiation?
Faculty
Julian Freeman
Partner
Cox Castle & Nicholson
Mr. Freeman specializes in all aspects of commercial real estate. He is recognized within the real estate... | Read More
Mr. Freeman specializes in all aspects of commercial real estate. He is recognized within the real estate community as a skilled and efficient dealmaker with a particular emphasis in the commercial leasing arena. His practice focuses on acquisitions and dispositions, development, joint ventures and management of real estate assets, and office, industrial and retail leasing. Mr. Freeman represents national and regional office and industrial landlords, major office and industrial tenants, and regional shopping center owners. Since 2007, he has drafted and negotiated leases and lease amendments for more than 20 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space located throughout the U.S., including the largest annual office lease in Orange County three times: in 2014 (191,000 feet), 2020 (260,000 feet) and 2021 (640,000 feet). Notably, the 640,000-square-foot office lease he completed in 2021 was one of the largest office leases in the history of Orange County.
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Corin M. Korenaga
Partner
Cox Castle & Nicholson
Mr. Korenaga’s practice is focused on acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, and merger and acquisition deals... | Read More
Mr. Korenaga’s practice is focused on acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, and merger and acquisition deals across real estate product types and nationally. He represents real estate owners, developers, and investors, as well as landlords and tenants of office, industrial, retail, and medical office properties. He has particular expertise in representing homebuilders nationally. Mr. Korenaga also represents landlords and tenants in negotiating sophisticated office, industrial, retail, medical office, and ground leases. He serves as the lead attorney for leasing, tenant disputes, lease workouts, and other day-to-day operational matters at several major developments throughout California. During his time at the firm, Mr. Korenaga has routinely handled in excess of 1.5 million square feet of leasing-related transactions annually.
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