The landlord's attorney drafted that lease. Nobody on your side has read it yet.
Commercial leases are long, dense, and written to protect the landlord. Most business owners sign them without fully understanding what they've agreed to. Some of those agreements follow them for ten years.
A commercial lease is typically the second largest financial commitment a business makes after payroll. Unlike a residential lease, commercial leases are almost entirely negotiable and almost entirely written by the landlord's attorney. Standard lease forms contain clauses that shift significant costs, risks, and obligations onto the tenant in ways that aren't obvious on a first read. A lease review identifies what you're actually agreeing to before you sign.
A bad commercial lease doesn't announce itself. It looks like every other lease — a dense document with numbered paragraphs and defined terms that the landlord's broker says is pretty standard. The problems show up later. A personal guarantee that makes you personally liable for the full remaining rent if the business fails. A triple net clause that adds thousands of dollars annually in operating expenses the tenant didn't budget for. A relocation clause that lets the landlord move your business to a different suite with minimal notice. An exclusivity clause that's narrower than you thought, allowing a competitor to open next door.
None of these are uncommon. All of them are negotiable before you sign. Almost none of them are negotiable after.
What a Commercial Lease Review Covers
A lease review is not a pass-fail exercise. The goal is to understand exactly what the lease says, identify the provisions that create the most risk or cost, and give you a clear picture of what you're agreeing to so you can make an informed decision about whether and how to proceed.
Rent Structure and Escalations. Base rent is the starting point. How it increases over the lease term — fixed annual escalations, CPI adjustments, or percentage rent clauses — determines what you'll actually pay in years three, five, and ten. We identify the escalation structure and model what total occupancy costs look like over the full term.
Operating Expenses and NNN Clauses. Triple net leases require the tenant to pay a share of the building's operating expenses — property taxes, insurance, and maintenance — on top of base rent. What counts as an operating expense, how it's calculated, and whether there are caps on annual increases varies significantly from lease to lease. Some NNN provisions include management fees, capital expenditures, and landlord overhead that tenants rarely anticipate.
Personal Guarantees. Most commercial landlords require a personal guarantee, which makes you personally liable for the lease obligations if the business entity defaults. The scope of the guarantee — full term, limited term, or burning off over time — is almost always negotiable. We identify the guarantee terms and flag where there's room to negotiate.
Permitted Use Clauses. The permitted use clause defines what your business can do in the space. A clause that's too narrow can prevent you from expanding your services or changing your business model without landlord consent. We review whether the clause is broad enough to accommodate how your business is likely to evolve.
Exclusivity Provisions. If you negotiated exclusivity — the landlord's agreement not to lease to a direct competitor in the same property — the scope of that exclusivity matters as much as whether it exists. A poorly drafted exclusivity clause can be narrower than you expect, allowing a competitor to operate under a slightly different description.
Relocation and Termination Rights. Some leases give the landlord the right to relocate your business to another suite in the building, or to terminate the lease early for redevelopment. These provisions can be severely disruptive to a business that depends on its specific location or build-out. We flag them and explain your options.
Renewal Options. A renewal option gives you the right to extend the lease at specified terms. How that option is structured — fixed rent, fair market rent, how and when it must be exercised — affects its actual value. A renewal option that must be exercised 12 months before expiration, with rent set at the landlord's determination of fair market value, provides much weaker protection than it appears.
Lease Renewals and Amendments
Existing tenants approaching a renewal often assume their leverage is limited because they're already in the space and moving is expensive. In practice, renewal negotiations are often more favorable to tenants than original lease negotiations because the landlord knows the real cost of vacancy and the expense of finding a replacement tenant.
We review renewal proposals with the same attention as original leases and identify where the terms have changed from the original, where there's room to negotiate, and whether the landlord has introduced new provisions that weren't in the original agreement.
Lease amendments — modifications to an existing lease midterm — require the same care. A landlord-proposed amendment that looks minor can alter core economic terms or waive protections that were in the original.
What We Don't Do
We review leases and explain what they mean. We are not a commercial real estate broker and we don't negotiate directly with landlords on your behalf in the same way a broker might handle deal terms. What we provide is a clear legal analysis of the document, identification of the provisions that create the most risk, and plain-English explanation of what you're agreeing to. Many clients use that analysis to negotiate directly or through their broker before coming back to us for a final review.
What It Costs
Commercial lease review is flat-fee based on lease length and complexity, quoted after a brief intake conversation. Most reviews are completed within a few business days. You'll know the cost before committing.
Frequently Asked Questions
A commercial lease review covers the full lease document including all exhibits and addenda. We identify the rent structure and escalation provisions, operating expense obligations, personal guarantee terms, permitted use restrictions, exclusivity provisions, relocation and termination rights, renewal options, and any other provisions that create material risk or cost for the tenant. You receive a plain-English summary of what the lease says and what to pay attention to before signing.
Yes. Unlike residential leases, commercial leases are not subject to most consumer protection statutes and are almost entirely governed by the contract terms the parties agree to. Standard lease forms are drafted by the landlord's attorney and favor the landlord. Most provisions — including personal guarantees, operating expense definitions, exclusivity scope, and renewal terms — are negotiable before execution. They are rarely negotiable after.
A triple net lease requires the tenant to pay base rent plus a proportionate share of the building's property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs. In practice, what counts as an operating expense and how costs are allocated varies significantly. Some NNN leases also pass through management fees, capital improvements, and administrative costs. The total occupancy cost under a NNN lease can be meaningfully higher than the base rent suggests, and the variation year to year depends on factors outside the tenant's control.
Most commercial landlords require a personal guarantee from the business owner, particularly for new businesses or entities without significant operating history. The scope of the guarantee is almost always negotiable. Full-term guarantees, limited guarantees that burn off after a period of on-time payments, and guarantees capped at a fixed dollar amount are all common structures. We review the guarantee terms and identify where there's room to push back.
A renewal proposal should be reviewed against the original lease to identify what has changed, including base rent, escalation structure, operating expense definitions, and any new provisions the landlord has introduced. Renewal options from the original lease — including how and when they must be exercised and how renewal rent is determined — should be reviewed carefully. Tenants approaching renewal often have more negotiating leverage than they realize.
Before you sign, before you exercise a renewal option, and before you sign any amendment to an existing lease. The earlier in the process the better — provisions that are negotiable before execution become binding commitments afterward. If a landlord is pressuring you to sign quickly, that's a reason to slow down, not to skip the review.
We provide a thorough legal analysis and identify where the lease terms are unfavorable or unusual. Many clients use that analysis to negotiate directly with the landlord or through their commercial real estate broker. We can advise on negotiating strategy and review revised drafts. Direct negotiation on your behalf as an advocate in the room is outside the scope of what we do, but the analysis we provide is typically what drives the negotiation.
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