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Q: It would be easier for me to sign a new lease with one of my office building tenants that wants to renegotiate its existing lease, rather than amend the current one. This is the first time I’ve gone through the process. Is there a common pitfall that owners forget about in this scenario?
Q: I recently bought a building comprised of several commercial condo spaces. A restaurant tenant has expressed interest in one of the spaces, but I’m apprehensive. The space is subject to the governing documents of an association, and restaurant tenants have more hoops to jump through, such as getting approval for improvements that typical retail tenants don’t need, like gas lines.
Q: After I sent a notice of default to a tenant and asked it to cure the default under the terms we had agreed on in the lease, the tenant claimed it hadn’t defaulted. There have been protracted discussions over the course of about two months about whether the tenant’s actions are a default. Finally, I sent it a notice that because it hasn’t cured the default, I have terminated the lease.
Q: I’m trying to change the synergy at my shopping center to make it more high-end. In the process, I’ve decided to terminate the leases for some of the less upscale retailers there. I complied with the termination requirements in my lease with one of these tenants, but it refuses to move out of the space. The process of revamping the center is slow but steady.
Q: A tenant’s space at my shopping center was damaged and I can’t afford to fix it immediately. The tenant is withholding rent, but continuing to operate from an undamaged portion of its store, so I don’t believe that it can claim that it has been “constructively evicted,” which under these circumstances would entitle it to withhold its rent. However, it says that it won’t pay rent again until all of the necessary repairs are made. Can it do this?
Q: I signed a lease for space at my shopping center with a tenant that said it would operate a floral shop. Apparently, after a storefront that is more convenient for its business became available, it decided to use that space for retail sales and my space for storage and as a workshop for its employees to assemble its products.
Q: Several years ago, I began subleasing my space at a shopping center to a new tenant. Recently, that space was affected when the city condemned a portion of the property for a public works project. As a result, the space became unusable. The owner of the center was compensated by the city for the portion of the center that was taken. The subtenant is asking me to reduce its rent in proportion to the current amount of space that it still can’t use.
Q: My lease with a tenant gave me the right to evict it if it defaulted on the lease. After the tenant failed to pay rent, it also moved out of the space but left behind a few items that seemed worthless. I engaged in a self-help eviction, by hiring a company to dispose of the items left behind, rather than legally evicting the tenant. Now, the tenant is suing me, claiming that I must pay it for the value of the items. It says that I should’ve used my eviction remedy in the lease instead of self-help.
Q: A jury ruled in favor of a tenant that sued me for breaching its lease for space at my shopping center. The tenant argued that I had breached the lease by accepting late rent payments a few times but telling the tenant that it was in default for late rent payments it made a few months later, and demanding that the tenant pay back rent and fees in a lump sum. According to the tenant, this “constructively evicted” it and “disturbed its right to quiet enjoyment” of its space.
Q: I signed a lease with a tenant who backed out of the deal shortly before moving into the space. The lease provided for a substantial tenant improvement allowance (TIA) because the building is new and needs not just the tenant’s requested improvements to its particular space, but also common areas, restrooms, a lobby, and a courtyard to be built in order to complete the building to lease to other tenants.
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