Leasing out commercial premises can bring in good money. Yet, if your lease agreement is not up to scratch, the cost to your tranquility and finances can leave you wishing you had never bothered.
When you build property, you have a vision of how people will use it. To ensure that is what happens, you need to translate the thoughts from your head to paper. Expecting a client to abide by something you failed to specify is asking for trouble, and if it goes to court, you would probably lose.
The clearer a lease agreement, the less likely you have problems
Here are a few things to bear in mind when drawing up a commercial lease:
- Clarify exclusions: If bills and maintenance are extra, you need to say so in the agreement. Only putting what you do include increases the chance of a misunderstanding.
- Clarify time and price restrictions: You plan to rent the premises for a year to a local restauranteur to get the place a name, then, once customers know this is the building to come for great food, raise the rent. Defining the length of the contract and your options to raise the price is crucial from the outset.
- Clarify the types of business you will accept: If you envision your new mall having a classy vibe, you need to think carefully about how you word your contract. You cannot discriminate based on class or income. Yet, you can include careful wording to ensure no one sets up fast food joints and sex shops in your mall.
Getting help to ensure the wording of your commercial lease agreement covers everything you need is far easier than dealing with the fallout of a lease dispute because it does not.