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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 h...
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 wit...
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 ri...
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 h...