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Q: Two tenants at the shopping center I own are currently in a dispute about who has the right to sell a certain product. A toy store tenant signed a lease with an exclusive use clause that gives it the right to be the only tenant in the center that sells toys. A variety store signed a lease that allows it to sell various items for entertainment. It was made aware at the time of the lease signing that the toy store had an exclusive right to sell toys, and it signed the lease nonetheless.
What are a landlord’s liability to tenants when it reopens part of the property after a disaster but still has to keep parts of the common areas closed for a while to fix the damage? That timely question is at the center of a recent case.
Q: If a major disaster that’s totally unforeseen and beyond anybody’s control, like a hurricane or perhaps the worldwide outbreak of a virulent virus, interferes with a tenant’s ability to use leased property for its intended business purpose, does the tenant still have to pay rent?
Q: A tenant negotiated an option to purchase the space it will be leasing from me at one of my free-standing properties, after it has operated there for a certain number of years. The notice requirements for exercising the purchase option are very clear; however, I’m concerned that if the tenant doesn’t do so in a timely manner, it could create problems for me by trying to revive the opportunity later.
Q: I own a mixed-use building that has retail stores on the ground floor and residential units on the floors above. The ground floor is specifically zoned for retail use. Should I factor in the potential for zoning changes in my leases, and if so, how?
A: Yes. Zoning laws, which are subject to change, present challenges. This will be part of negotiations with tenants and will affect the way that you draft leases.
Q: The standard lease form that my attorney and I have used for the last several years requires a tenant to add me to its commercial general liability (CGL) policy as an “additional named insured.” But recently I have spoken with other shopping center owners about this who have said that it’s a mistake to require that. As I understand it, the additional named insured status might give me the same rights as the tenant under its CGL policy, but are there disadvantages?
Q: One of the tenants at the shopping center I own has multiple businesses and doesn’t monitor its co-tenancy requirements. I breached the lease by not replacing a tenant that went out of business with a suitable replacement tenant under our co-tenancy provision, but the tenant continued to pay rent until the end of its lease term.
Q: Two tenants at the shopping center I own are currently in a dispute about who has the right to sell a certain product. A toy store tenant signed a lease with an exclusive use clause that gives it the right to be the only tenant in the center that sells toys. A variety store signed a lease that allows it to sell various items for entertainment. It was made aware at the time of the lease signing that the toy store had an exclusive right to sell toys, and it signed the lease nonetheless.
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