When a Florida resident does not own their own home, they will choose to rent an apartment or house to serve as their residence. In order to secure a rental, they will apply for a space with the property’s owner or manager and sign a contract to formalize their agreement regarding the space. Details of their agreement generally will concern the length of the agreement, the cost of the renter’s monthly rent, and other basic terms.
Lease agreements for commercial spaces can often be more complex. With those complexities, however, come opportunities for more negotiating for renters to get what they want. This post will discuss the negotiable elements of commercial leases and how real estate attorneys can help businesses find the right locations for their operations.
How commercial leases differ from residential leases
A residential lease must enable a landlord and tenant to agree to terms on a space for a person, couple, or family to live. A space intended for residential living must be equipped with specific utilities, offer safety features like smoke detectors, and have rooms intended for sleeping, cooking, and living. What a person needs to live and what they need to run a business may be very different.
Commercial leases can cover much more specific topics. In the case of an industrial entity, specific forms of power or sources of power may be required to run equipment and machinery. Space size may preclude some businesses from considering specific spaces if their operations are very large or very small. Commercial entities may wish to use exterior commercial spaces for advertising and need authorizations from their landlords to paint, put up signage, or modify existing aesthetic features.
Look to the market to know how to negotiate
In a cool commercial rental market, a renter may have strong power to get just what they want out of a rental property. Landlords may be more willing to concede power to their renters in the interest of filling commercial spaces. However, when many businesses are vying for few available commercial locations, landlords may be able to follow more stringent negotiating tactics to limit the actions of renters.
This legal blog offers no advice to its readers. The way that a commercial renter or landlord chooses to approach a commercial lease agreement will greatly depend on their needs and commitment to a specific commercial space. A real estate attorney can work directly with such a party to ensure that their commercial lease agreement is both comprehensive of their needs and protective of their rights.
