After finding the perfect office space to lease for your business and both you and the landlord have agreed to how much monthly rent you will pay and how long the lease term will be, the next logical step is to have a formal commercial office lease contract drafted.
The office lease will cover all the things that you and the landlord want to happen, want to prevent from happening, or that might happen, based on your experience of what has already happened.
Office Lease documents typically contain hundreds of clauses that can be difficult for just any person to interpret. The drafter of the lease (usually the landlord) typically has control and does not have the other party’s (usually the Tenant) best interests in mind making the lease a one sided document. All lease contracts can be negotiated, however to what extent depends on the size and financial strength of the Tenant, current market conditions, etc..
While it’s always a great idea to have a real estate attorney review your lease, It’s important for you to have a good understanding of the common lease clauses and the current and future needs of your business to determine which lease deal points are worth fighting for and how they affect your tenancy given a particular situation.
Over the next few weeks I will interpret (from my experience) some of these basic lease clauses. Some of those include but are not limited to:
Demised Premises
Rent
Additional Rent
Term
Use
Taxes
Landlord Obligations
Utilities
Security Deposit
Alteration
Repairs & Maintenance
Common Areas
Insurance
Assignment & Subletting
Default
Destruction of Building
Condemnation
Sale or Financing
General Provisions
Holding Over
Substitution Space
If you have any questions about commercial lease agreements in general or more specifically about your Austin Office Space lease don’t hesitate to contact us with questions.