Part 6 – Negotiating a favorable agreement

Before the parties begin negotiating the lease document, and before the lawyer is consulted, the design process typically has already begun. By the time the LOI is prepared, the parties usually have at least a preliminary space plan for an office lease or a site plan for an industrial or retail project. The basic scope and nature of the construction will have been discussed and an understanding of some sort reached. The negotiations should flush out the unstated assumptions and expectations of the parties and resolve points of conflict.

Negotiating the lease should not be difficult! In fact, many landlords recognize that providing “superior tenant service” begins by making the lease negotiation process as simple and efficient as possible, as long delays over minor details serve neither party. Increasingly, landlords are shortening the lease negotiation process through a system of alternate lease clauses used to substitute standard clauses as appropriate, to avoid having to write specific language each time an issue arises.