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By Suzanne Reifman, partner at Vinson and Elkins

We are seeing an increase in cases in which building owners that have not previously leased space to the government find themselves landlords to federal government tenants, either by acquiring a foreclosure property with a government lease or by participating in a government procurement and securing a lease award. There are a host of advantages to housing a government tenant, especially in a “down&rdquo...

Traditionally, renting space to kiosks—small, independent stands that sell merchandise—has been a low-maintenance and relatively hassle-free way of supplementing shopping center profits—if it's done correctly. And, for the last two seasons, pop-up tenants—temporary stores that sell only one type of merchandise—have boosted drooping profits from declining sales at traditional “core”—that is, permanent—stores in ce...

Requiring tenants to give you a security deposit before moving into the office building or retail space you own can help protect you if you later can't collect rent from them or need to pay the cost of repairing damage they may have caused. But depending on a security deposit to give you protection if a tenant doesn't meet its lease obligations can be dangerous if you don't have the right to increase the amount when certain costly events occur.

Commercial tenants typically want the right to “go dark”—that is, stop operating while continuing to pay rent—if their businesses aren't generating enough revenue. “Going dark” can save tenants the cost of stocking and staffing the space they rent. But if you give a tenant the right to go dark, you may want to carve out a recapture right for yourself—allowing you to take back the space and replace the tenant.

Developing a shopping center in phases may be a good option for you if you want to begin the project even when conditions for the whole development of it are incomplete. “Phasing” allows you to construct one phase after you get commitments from tenants that they'll lease space in that phase, and then continue constructing additional phases as you get commitments from more tenants.

Two measurements—of the “rentable area” and the “usable area”—of office building space are critical because they are used to calculate the “load factor”—the percentage of the space that is not usable by tenants. Together, the rentable area, usable area, and load factor of a space determine the amount of rent that you can reasonably charge a tenant for it. Be aware that the way you measure your space could work for or...

A commercial lease with a food service tenant presents unique challenges that typical retail leases don't. For example, in addition to common retail lease terms, such as exclusive use and common area maintenance (CAM) provisions, you must carve out your right to control additional factors—noise, crowds, odors, specialized trash removal, and extended operating hours—that restaurants, food court, and other food service tenants have a tendency to create.

By David S. Houston, Esq.

The National Restaurant Association reports that there are approximately 960,000 restaurants in the United States, which will generate more than $604 billion in sales in 2011. For every dollar spent on food, 49 cents of it will be spent in a restaurant. This percentage is true for all types of food establishments and outlets—and it's increasing.

Disasters have always affected commercial owners who must deal with property damage caused by snowstorms, hurricanes, fires, and floods. Passing disaster-related expenses through to tenants in common area maintenance (CAM) charges can lower your repair bills and boost your bottom line after your shopping center or office building has been damaged. Negotiate with your tenant to obligate it to pay for at least some of the cost of rehabilitating your property.

Facts: An employee of an office building tenant suffered injuries after she tripped and fell on a raised edge of the metal molding surrounding a trapdoor on the floor of the tenant's pantry room. The purpose of the trapdoor was to access a crawl space approximately three feet high that lies beneath the pantry room floor. The employee sued the owner for negligence and New York Health Code violations. She asked the court for a judgment in her favor without a tr...