Contrary to popular belief or what landlords tell you, there is no such thing as a “standard” commercial real estate lease. Unlike in other business aspects there are not many legal constraints on what tenants and landlords can agree or not agree to. Even if it’s a contract that is widely used by other commercial real estate firms or agreed to by other tenants in the building, commercial lease contracts can be modified. The only constraints that landlords have come from preexisting contractual agreements to other tenants in the building or other obligations to lenders and insurance companies.
When it comes to commercial leases one size does NOT fit all. No matter how long or professional looking the contract, they are all negotiable. Just how much you can negotiate depends on how strong the market is in your area and type of space, how desperate the landlord is to lease the space to you, and how bad you want to lease the particular space.
When negotiating successful commercial leases it’s important that you know what you need and want out of your commercial space AND that you understand the meaning of the commercial lease clauses.