Before you sign a lease you should understand what is in the lease contract, and you should consider changing some clauses, and adding clauses that protect you. As everything is negotiable, it cannot hurt to ask for everything you want and compromise were need be. I am not a lawyer and cannot comment on all the clauses in a particular lease, having said that, there are areas where my experience might assist your thinking. Here are some areas I have found need consideration and changes in leases.
The lease will obligate you as to payments, and spell out the obligations each party has to the other. Read the lease carefully and agree to all the terms that seem fair and reasonable, negotiate everything else. Be certain your insurance agent covers you for all of the contingencies in the lease. The lease is a big commitment, multiply the monthly amount t by the number of months and you will see just how much you are promising to pay.
When ever possible try to lease directly from the owner. Most of the time you can negotiate a better deal, as the owner will not have to pay the commission money to the agent. The owner of a vacant property is paying the carrying cost of the un-rented property and that is a big motivation to do a deal. The property owner has a vested interest in leasing the property quickly.
Business interruption clause: Add a clause that states. "This contract (lease) can be temporally suspended, or canceled, with thirty days written notice with no further payment obligation by the user if the user's business is interrupted for any reason to include, fire, loss of lease, street repairs, or user ceasing business operations at this location." Try to get this inserted, or some version of it. If you cannot get the landlord to agree to the clause, get them to agree to a lower monthly rental amount equal to the cost of business interruption insurance. This is a very important clause.
Parking: Often over looked, parking problems can cause major headaches for your business. Have parking spelled out in the lease; Consider covered parking, on site, off site, number of spaces for your staff, designated area for your customers, etc.
Rent increases: There is nothing worse than a lease that expires and you get hit with a big increase when you are not prepared to move. I try for a negotiated renewal rate of a 5% increase or the inflation rate whichever is less.
Triple net leases: When I am the renter I try to avoid triple net leases. When I am the landlord, I love triple net leases. A triple net lease means you, the renter, pay all cost including insurance, maintenance, repairs and taxes. Do not agree to repair A/C units over three years old. Do not agree to fix plumbing over five years old. Never agree to parking lot or roof repairs. Limit tax increases to 10% a year. Make the landlord liable for any special assessments.
Premise Condition: It has been my experience that when a landlord wants to rent space they will agree to most reasonable repairs or alterations. After you move in every expense is a reduction in their income, and thus will be very hard to get done. The reason this is true is that the value of the property is directly related to the net operating income, (NOI), the property produces. As a general rule of thumb, for every dollar reduction in NOI there is a reduction of ten dollars to the properties market value.
Free Rent: Try to negotiate free rent. A landlord would rather give you free rent for the move in period, (or if you do the work he would normally hire a contractor to do), rather than giving your a rent reduction. The reason this is true, is that the value of the property is directly related to the net operating income, (NOI), the property produces. As a general rule of thumb, for every dollar reduction in NOI there is a reduction of ten dollars to the properties value. The higher the monthly rental amount, and the lower the landlords expenses, the more the property is worth. Ask for one or two months free rent.
C of O (Certificate of occupancy): Most leases have a clause that states you have inspected the property, find no defects for your intended use, and that you will bear the cost of compliance to get a C of O inspection. That means you are accepting the property as described in the lease. I suggest you add a clause that states. "The landlord warrants that the property complies with all city codes, will pass inspection for a C of O, and that the landlord will bear the cost of any requirements of the city not related directly to tenet's intended use." If you cannot get the clause, get the inspection by the city prior to signing the lease, or make the lease subject to you getting the C of O. I have seen cases were the tenet paid rent for months waiting to get the C of O.
Deposits: As a renter, I do not want to put up a rent deposit and I want to get the first month or two as free rent. As a tenet, deposit money is better used in my business than being tied up as a rent deposit. Over the years I have been able to talk the landlord out of a security deposit about half of the time.
As a landlord I want largest deposits (an interest free loan from you), and no free rent!