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Q: A nationally publicized violent incident at a Florida big box store has made me think once again about the level of security I need to keep my center safe for tenants and their customers and employees. Although this most recent retail violence—a customer attacked another customer for bringing more than 20 items into an “express checkout” lane—is out of the ordinary, there have been some minor altercations in my center’s parking lot over the last couple of years.
Q: Tenants in my strip mall have assigned parking spots. Unfortunately, parking is very limited and, fairly often, those assigned spots are used by people who are not entitled to park there. My property has fielded numerous complaints about parking, including a threat from one tenant that it will sue us if we don’t start enforcing the parking restrictions in the center rules and its lease. There will be some tenant turnover soon and I’d like to phase out the assigned parking at the center.
Q: I lease property to a wide variety of tenants, and I have leases that are technical and complicated. If a term or terms in one of these leases turned out to be illegal, what effect would it have on the rest of the agreement?
Q: I’m vigilant about making sure that the office building I recently bought is compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but it can be expensive to do this. How can I pass some of the costs through to tenants?
Q: During last year’s holiday shopping season, a long-standing tenant at my center put up a large holiday display that wasn’t in keeping with the appearance of the center’s aesthetic. Its lease, which was entered into before I bought the center, didn’t prohibit it from setting up holiday displays or signs. Going forward, how can I prevent new tenants from doing this?
Q:There are several vacant spaces in my shopping center. With the holiday season coming up, I’m worried that increased foot traffic from holiday shoppers that has always boosted profits in the past will be lured away by fully leased centers nearby. I’ve been approached by specialty “pop-up” tenants that want to rent space for just the busy holiday season. Should my leases with temporary tenants differ from my standard leases?
Q: A visitor to the mall I own was injured while taking part in a recreational activity held in the parking lot by a local charity group that also leases space there. The charity group provided the entertainment free of charge. I’ve heard about “recreational use immunity” sometimes protecting property owners from liability in this scenario. Does recreational use immunity apply to me?
Q: I’m about to start negotiating with a prospective tenant for office space that will require a substantial buildout by me before the tenant moves in. To protect itself, the tenant has asked to negotiate a detailed, comprehensive work letter. I understand that some owners wait until the rest of the lease is negotiated before starting work letter negotiations. But I’ve heard nightmare stories of snafus during work letter negotiations that sank entire deals.
Q: I negotiated a “percentage rent” clause in my lease with a “general store”-type tenant at my center. At the time, the tenant didn’t have an automated teller machine (ATM) in its space, but it just installed one at the front of the store, so that customers can access cash when checking out. I assume that the tenant will charge an ATM fee. Will I be entitled to a percentage of the fees it will collect from all of its ATM transactions?
Q: My shopping center leases let me pass through the cost of lighting the parking lot during center hours. But some of my tenants—such as a movie theater and a restaurant—commonly stay open after center hours. I want to charge them for the extra cost of lighting the parking lot after hours. Can I do this? If so, how?
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