A commercial lease is one of the most important agreements a business or property owner can enter into. These leases carry significant financial and legal consequences, and unclear or unfavorable terms can lead to costly disputes. Whether you’re negotiating a new lease, drafting terms, or facing issues with a landlord or tenant, having experienced legal counsel is essential.
Demorest Law, PLLC, serves clients in the Detroit metro area and throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Washtenaw, and Monroe counties. Our team can help protect your interests and resolve lease-related problems efficiently. Contact us for an initial evaluation with a Royal Oak real estate attorney to discuss your commercial lease and find out how we can assist with drafting, negotiation, or dispute resolution.
We Work with Businesses for All Kinds of Commercial Leases
At Demorest Law, PLLC, we represent landlords and tenants in commercial lease matters. Our firm has extensive experience advising clients on commercial leases across industries such as hospitality (e.g., restaurants and resorts), automotive, healthcare, and construction. Our attorneys can assist with leases such as:
- Office leases, including professional offices and medical offices
- Retail leases, including spaces in shopping centers, strip malls, and standalone retail pads
- Industrial and warehouse leases for manufacturing, distribution, logistics facilities, and storage
- Special-purpose properties, such as vehicle/supply storage lots for construction companies, auto repair centers or dealership lots for the automotive industry, or land leases for golf courses
Essential Provisions of Commercial Leases
A commercial lease will incorporate various contractual provisions, depending on the circumstances of the landlord’s and tenant’s relationship, the nature of the tenant’s business, and the specific deal terms that the parties reach. However, commercial leases in Royal Oak typically address specific standard provisions, including:
- Lease term and renewal rights, including an initial length and whether the tenant has the right to request a renewal of the lease, subject to meeting notice requirements and agreeing to pay specific rent increases
- Rent structure, including the base rent, additional charges (e.g., CAM, utilities, property tax share, etc.), and escalators for the duration of the initial or renewed lease
- Use clauses and exclusivity, which can restrict a tenant’s business activities to meet the landlord’s exclusivity obligations to other tenants and to follow local zoning and land use regulations
- Maintenance, repairs, and improvements, including tenant allowances to fund space build-out or renovations, tenants’ rights to make improvements, and allocation of maintenance and repair responsibilities between landlords and tenants
- Subleasing and assignment rights, including landlord approval requirements
- Termination provisions, including rights for early termination or grounds for termination of the lease for default
What Michigan Businesses Should Know About Commercial Leases
Businesses entering commercial leases should understand that they can negotiate lease terms to address specific needs or reflect current real estate market conditions. A tenant may have leverage in negotiations in a soft real estate market when a space requires build-out or repairs, or when the tenant agrees to a long-term lease. Landlords may have leverage when negotiating in a heated real estate market with limited commercial space available.
Commercial leases also involve an allocation of risk between landlords and tenants, as landlords may risk a tenant’s default and tenants may risk changes in their business operations or the broader economic environment, making the leased space less suitable. As a result, hiring a lawyer to advise you in a commercial lease matter can improve the financial and operational effects of a commercial lease for both landlords and tenants.
Common Commercial Lease Issues and Disputes
Our lawyers regularly advise parties facing legal issues or disputes related to commercial leases. Some of the most frequent problems or disagreements that landlords and tenants in commercial leases may have include:
- Rent disputes, including responsibility for utilities or property taxes, allocation of rent credits, assessment of common area maintenance (CAM) charges, or payment of tenant allowances
- Maintenance and repair issues, including determining responsibility for maintenance or repair tasks such as snow/ice removal, HVAC systems, or electrical/plumbing
- Invocation of renewal and purchase options, including disputes over the satisfaction of conditions precedent to exercising an option or notice provisions
- Breach of lease claims, including default on rent, violations of exclusivity provisions, violations of local zoning or land use laws, or default of maintenance/repair obligations
- Lease termination and eviction disputes, including issues regarding notice and cure provisions in the lease or litigation in eviction or possession actions
- Early lease termination requests, including applicability of “go-dark” lease provisions or triggering of minimum occupancy thresholds
- Subleasing or lease assignment requests, including disputes over the landlord’s exercise of subtenant/assignee approval rights
- Disputes over reasonable mitigation efforts following alleged breaches of a lease
If you have a disagreement or dispute with your landlord or tenant, the attorneys at Demorest Law, PLLC, can help you evaluate your rights and options to pursue a favorable resolution.
How Can Legal Counsel Help with Commercial Leasing?
Hiring a law firm in Royal Oak to help you with a commercial leasing matter can best protect your legal and financial rights or interests, whether you lease commercial property to a business or you need to take out a lease for your company’s location. The lawyers of Demorest Law, PLLC, can assist you with securing a fair and favorable deal in a commercial lease or dispute over a leasing matter by:
- Discussing your specific needs and concerns to develop a negotiation strategy to pursue lease terms tailored to your interests
- Helping you understand critical lease provisions and their importance to your business
- Evaluating the suitability of a proposed lease agreement for your current and future needs
- Identifying potential long-term risks or hidden liabilities in a lease agreement
- Ensuring compliance with state laws and building codes, or local business and zoning regulations
Why Choose the Attorneys of Demorest Law, PLLC?
The complexity and high financial stakes of a commercial lease make it critical to have legal representation when negotiating a lease or addressing legal issues arising from a commercial leasing relationship. Choose the business attorneys at Demorest Law, PLLC, to guide you through the legal issues associated with commercial leases because:
- We work tirelessly to help your business with personal attention and dedicated support. Our law firm frequently works with small- and medium-sized businesses and has experience advising large companies on complex transactions.
- When you turn to our experienced real estate lawyers for advice on a commercial lease, we take the time to understand your situation and listen to your needs, concerns, and goals to provide your business with tailored advice and effective legal solutions. Our dedication has earned us our clients’ trust, as many of the companies we work with have returned to our law firm over the years for ongoing legal support.
- Our lawyers strive to uphold our firm’s values of integrity, efficiency, communication, teamwork, and civility to ensure we provide each client with the top-quality legal representation they deserve.
Contact Our Royal Oak Firm Today for Experienced Guidance
Whether you have entered into negotiations over a commercial lease or you have disputes with your landlord or tenant, having experienced legal counsel on your side can help you protect your rights and interests. Contact Demorest Law, PLLC, today for a confidential consultation with a knowledgeable business law firm in Royal Oak to learn how our attorneys can help with the legal issues you may have related to a commercial lease agreement. Our Detroit-area firm is proud to serve business clients in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Washtenaw, and Monroe counties and throughout the state of Michigan.
