Commercial Lease Tenant Obligations That Lead To Disputes

Commercial Lease Tenant Obligations That Lead To Disputes In the event you are running a business in a commercially leased space, then you must be aware of the obvious reasons for the disputes between a landlord and the tenant. It is noted that in most of the cases, the origin of the disagreement due to lack of clarity regarding maintenance and repair obligations.

So, if you are a business owner who is planning to move to a new commercial space, then take some time to have a clear idea regarding these types of commercial lease issues.

Generally, neither the property owner nor the tenant wishes to spend large amounts into maintaining and fixing the commercial space. However, both the owner and the tenant need to think in terms of practicality and take responsibility for the maintenance work of the commercial property.

It is always good to have a reputed commercial real estate company do the proper paperwork in the beginning and leave no biased obligations which can become a dispute in the later stage.

Below mentioned are some of the most common maintenance and repair commercial lease tenant obligations that lead to disputes.

Maintenance of nonstructural elements In commercial lease tenant obligations, it is often confusion that who will maintain the nonstructural elements, either the owner or the tenant. It mainly depends on the type of commercial lease, where it should be mentioned who is responsible for the cleanliness.

Mostly, the nonstructural elements constitute

Carpets



Lighting



Wall-coverings



Kitchen appliances

So, while preparing the lease agreement, keep in mind that your responsibility for cleaning these nonstructural features should be limited to the space you rent. You should be able to

negotiate to achieve a more tenant-friendly clause. Or else, take the help of commercial property brokers to avoid disputes.

Damages caused by tenants When you rent a business space, another common commercial lease tenant obligation is to pay for damages is tagged on the tenant. Suppose a window is broken, then the tenant needs to pay for it to either be fixed or replaced. The same goes for tenants who break fixtures elsewhere on commercial property.

The tenant should not expect the landlord to pay for the damages in the leased space. The property owner and also the neighboring tenants alike expect you to take responsibility for the damages.

So, it is sensible to prepare a commercial lease tenant obligation upon moving into a new commercial space. The owners keep a minimum of one month rent as a security deposit to cover any damages, in addition to an obligation to sign a personal guaranty agreement.

Maintenance costs in operating expenses You may find that the business owners who are good at negotiation or hire the services of experienced commercial realtors, get the benefit of minimizing the commercial lease tenant obligations through their operating expenses.

What is needed to be done is, carefully inspect the portion of the operating expenses of your commercial lease. Many tenants attempt to shift certain maintenance and repair obligations over to the landlord when they cannot afford the costs.

But if those repairs are listed in the tenant's operating expenses, they are still responsible for the costs. If you want to ensure that you are not obligated to pay for expensive and seemingly unfair repair costs, hire a professional for commercial lease advice.

HVAC repair & maintenance The HVAC system is one of the important aspects of commercial space. Without a functioning heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, tenants cannot comfortably work in their commercial leased spaces.

When it comes to the repair & maintenance of the HVAC system, most tenants are responsible for the costs either directly or indirectly. The tenants should be responsible for at least a portion of the payments when their building's HVAC system breaks.

The property owners may share the maintenance costs or make the tenant pay all the expenses.

But, the repair costs are often expensive and therefore, the tenants should prepare a commercial lease tenant obligation and negotiate well to avoid paying for the HVAC repairs.

Improvements at the workplace In the sheet of commercial lease tenant obligations, an important context is the workplace improvements. When the business owners need to modify a certain section of the commercial space, they are entitled to bear all the costs.

The extra expense might be too large and many owners assume ownership of certain workspace improvements after tenants move out. Prepare yourself for the costs and the outcomes of this commercial lease tenant obligation. Mention all in the lease agreement and be clear about the ownership of such improvements.