Helped Clients Recover Over $25 Billion. Since 1979.
Helped Clients Recover Over $25 Billion. Since 1979.
A commercial lease can commit your business to years of rent, repair costs, and building expenses, and it can make an owner personally liable through a guaranty. The Schenk Law Firm represents tenants and landlords from the letter of intent to the final lease, and later through amendments, assignments, subleases, and lease exits.
Letters of Intent
Letters of intent for new space that settle the rent, term, improvement allowance, and guaranty before the landlord’s lease form arrives.
Lease Drafting & Review
Office, retail, restaurant, industrial, and warehouse leases for landlords and tenants. We also draft the guaranties and options to purchase that go with a lease.
Amendments, Renewals & Rent Relief
Lease amendments, renewals, rent deferrals, and rent abatements when a tenant’s needs change or a landlord agrees to adjust the rent.
Assignments, Subleases & Business Sales
Landlord consent when you sell your business, bring in a partner, or need to sublet space you no longer use. We coordinate the lease with the purchase agreement so the sale can close on schedule.
Restaurant Space Changing Hands
Leases for restaurant space passing from one operator to the next, coordinated with the transfer of the furniture, fixtures, equipment, and liquor license that come with the space.
Lease Exits & Disputes
Surrender and termination agreements with outgoing tenants, and negotiated exits for tenants closing a location. See our real estate disputes page.
What should I settle in the letter of intent?
A letter of intent usually isn’t binding, but it sets the terms the landlord expects to see in the lease. Rent, term, renewal options, the improvement allowance, and the guaranty are easier to settle at that stage than after the landlord’s lease form arrives.
Who covers repairs, taxes, and building costs?
That depends on the type of lease and its exact wording. In a net lease, the tenant covers a share of property taxes, insurance, and common area costs on top of base rent. Before you commit, check what those charges include, whether increases are capped, and whether you can audit the landlord’s numbers.
Can the landlord refuse to let me assign the lease or sublet?
The lease controls. If it requires the landlord’s consent but gives no standard, California law says the landlord can’t unreasonably withhold consent. A lease can set a stricter standard, so this clause is worth negotiating up front.
What happens if my business has to leave early?
Moving out doesn’t end the obligation to cover the rent. Under California law, a landlord can generally recover the rent it loses, less the amount it could reasonably have avoided by re-letting the space, and some leases let the landlord keep the lease in force and collect rent as it comes due. A negotiated exit can fix the amount owed and, in some cases, release the guarantor.
Does the landlord have to disclose anything about accessibility?
Yes. A California commercial lease must state whether the premises have been inspected by a Certified Access Specialist (CASp). If they haven’t, the lease must say that the tenant can request an inspection, and the parties must agree on who bears the cost of the inspection and of any repairs it identifies.
Experience
David Lizerbram has practiced business law in California for more than two decades and has negotiated many commercial leases. Benjamin Schenk founded and runs a commercial real estate investment and asset management firm.
Landlords and Tenants
We draft and negotiate leases for both landlords and tenants, and we tie the lease to the rest of the deal when a business is sold or a space changes hands.
Working With Your Broker
We work alongside your broker and focus on the legal terms of the lease.
Case Study
A retail property owner needed a new restaurant operator for space its longtime tenant had given back. We drafted and negotiated a 10-year triple-net lease with two five-year renewal options.
Case Study
We represented the buyer of an operating business that ran on a leased lot. The deal depended on the landlord accepting the buyer as the new tenant and guarantor. We revised the lease assignment and guaranty to limit the buyer’s obligations to the lease as amended, and we confirmed which deposits and liabilities stayed with the seller. The landlord approved the assignment, and the buyer took over the lot with several years left on the lease.
Case Study
A growing organization moving into a second-floor office suite received the landlord’s standard lease form. We wrote a plain-English review of each major term. We then sent the landlord a comment letter covering the condition of the space at delivery, the tenant’s share of capital costs, early access, and operating hours. Both sides signed a two-year lease.
Client names and identifying details are withheld. Results depend on the facts of each matter, and past results don’t guarantee a similar outcome.
The Schenk Law Firm is based in North Park, San Diego, and advises on commercial leases for property throughout California. If your space is in another state, we can review the business terms and work with local counsel on the provisions that depend on that state’s law.
Our real estate practice covers transactions as well as disputes.
Contract Drafting & Negotiation
The other agreements a business signs alongside its lease.
Business sales that require the landlord’s consent to assign the lease.
Medical & Healthcare Real Estate
Leases and property for medical, dental, therapy, and wellness practices.
Business advice for medical practices, including the space they lease.
Ongoing legal support for businesses with several locations or leases.
Lease terms are hardest to change once the lease is final. Whether you’re taking new space, renewing, selling your business, or trying to get out of space you no longer need, we can explain your position and negotiate on your behalf.
Contact us today to discuss your commercial lease.
Request a ConsultationA broker negotiates the business terms and can be a valuable part of the process, but a broker can’t give legal advice on the lease itself, including the guaranty, the default provisions, the landlord’s remedies, and the indemnity. We work alongside your broker.
We’ll need the draft lease with all exhibits, the letter of intent, any guaranty, and a short note on your plans for the space. If you’re taking over an existing lease, include the original lease along with every amendment.
Yes. A landlord’s form is written to protect the landlord, and its terms can be discussed. It makes sense to focus your requests on the provisions that carry the most cost and risk for your business.
It’s a personal guaranty that ends if the tenant gives proper notice, covers rent through an agreed move-out date, and returns the space in the required condition. It limits the owner’s exposure compared with a guaranty of the full lease term.