RECESSION RENT REDUCTIONS NEGOTIATING A MID-TERM RENT REDUCTION FOR YOUR COMMERCIAL LEASE
FranchisingAuthor :
Dale Willerton 
Dale Willerton is The Lease Coach - a Lease Consultant who works exclusively for tenants. Dale is a professional speaker and author of Negotiate Your Commercial, Retail & Office Lease or Renewal.
Need help with your new lease or renewal?
Call Dale at 1-800-738-9202,
e-mail DaleWillerton@TheLeaseCoach.com
or visit www.TheLeaseCoach.com and/or www.HelpULeaseCommercial.com.
Whenever I speak at an expo or convention, I inevitably meet many struggling entrepreneurs leasing commercial or retail space. These tenants desperately need a rent reduction... right now. The recession is taking its toll on all industries including franchises; business expenses are rising and the high cost of leasing space is closing in on tenants. Your monthly rental payment to the landlord is one of your biggest monthly expenses. Therefore, reducing this monthly lease payment is imperative for businesses like yours to stay viable.
If your business was at the end of its lease term there would be hope for a rent reduction on the lease renewal. Unfortunately, many tenants find themselves in trouble somewhere mid-term into a five-year lease agreement. Just last week one entrepreneur admitted to me that he was struggling in year one of a ten-year lease term for a business he had recently bought.
Well, I want you to know that there is hope for a mid-term rent reduction! There are several reasons a commercial landlord would agree to a mid-term rent reduction for your commercial space:
A) Other existing or pending vacancies: If the landlord already has other vacant units within the same property, odds are greater he won’t want another vacancy. Even if the plaza appears to be fully-occupied by other tenants, many of your neighbours may be behind in their rent or planning to close out entirely sooner than you might think. Several existing tenants may not be planning to renew their leases so the landlord knows that more space will be coming available in that property soon. These make for all the more good reasons for your landlord to keep your tenancy, even at a lower rental rate.
B) Other existing or pending vacancies: If the landlord already has other vacant units within the same property, odds are greater he won’t want another vacancy. Sometimes the property might appear to fully leased by other tenants in other industries but they may also be in trouble because of the recession. They may be behind in their rental payments. Several existing tenants may not be planning to renew their leases so the landlord knows that more space will be coming available in that property soon. These make for all the more good reasons for your landlord to keep your tenancy, even at a lower rental rate.
C) A Downward Shift in Market Rents: If market rents have reduced because of the recession and the landlord is leasing space to new tenants at a lower rental rate than you are currently paying, then replacing you with another tenant is less desirable. Not only have you proven yourself as a more established tenant, the new tenant would be paying the lower (new market rental rate) making the landlord ultimately no better off.
D) Competitor closures: If other businesses in your industry are closing out in your area then the landlord will be more motivated to keep you open, even at a lower rental rate. When any tenant closes out the landlord (or the landlord’s agent) tends to look for a similar use replacement tenant. If no other tenants want to take over your location the landlord is better off keeping you open.
As I write this article, I am flying back from New York. Yesterday I was a guest speaker at a large business expo. One struggling business-owner told me that she just discovered that 30% of her co-tenants have been paying little or no rent for the past few months due to the recession. Could this be true, and how could she also pay less rent, was what she wanted to know. In commercial real estate it’s every tenant for himself. No two landlords are the same but they all want and need cash flow from rent-paying tenants. Chances are you won’t be the first (or last) tenant to approach the landlord for a rent break – so why not do it now?
Here are a couple realistic tips for getting a rent break:
- Be prepared to ask, ask and ask again.
- Put your request to the landlord or property manager both in writing and verbally.
- Do your homework by determining if market rents have declined, and find out what other tenants are doing.
- If you want some professional help, don’t turn to an attorney (landlords hate getting letters from lawyers about rent reductions). You need a Professional Lease Consultant who can do a market analysis and who will speak to your landlord at a real estate level, not from a legal perspective.
If a landlord has to choose between seeing your business close down, or giving you a rent break it might actually be easier and cheaper for him/her to reduce your rent, right now, mid-term. For a no-obligation consultation, e-mail me and let’s talk about your situation.
If your business was at the end of its lease term there would be hope for a rent reduction on the lease renewal. Unfortunately, many tenants find themselves in trouble somewhere mid-term into a five-year lease agreement. Just last week one entrepreneur admitted to me that he was struggling in year one of a ten-year lease term for a business he had recently bought.
Well, I want you to know that there is hope for a mid-term rent reduction! There are several reasons a commercial landlord would agree to a mid-term rent reduction for your commercial space:
A) Other existing or pending vacancies: If the landlord already has other vacant units within the same property, odds are greater he won’t want another vacancy. Even if the plaza appears to be fully-occupied by other tenants, many of your neighbours may be behind in their rent or planning to close out entirely sooner than you might think. Several existing tenants may not be planning to renew their leases so the landlord knows that more space will be coming available in that property soon. These make for all the more good reasons for your landlord to keep your tenancy, even at a lower rental rate.
B) Other existing or pending vacancies: If the landlord already has other vacant units within the same property, odds are greater he won’t want another vacancy. Sometimes the property might appear to fully leased by other tenants in other industries but they may also be in trouble because of the recession. They may be behind in their rental payments. Several existing tenants may not be planning to renew their leases so the landlord knows that more space will be coming available in that property soon. These make for all the more good reasons for your landlord to keep your tenancy, even at a lower rental rate.
C) A Downward Shift in Market Rents: If market rents have reduced because of the recession and the landlord is leasing space to new tenants at a lower rental rate than you are currently paying, then replacing you with another tenant is less desirable. Not only have you proven yourself as a more established tenant, the new tenant would be paying the lower (new market rental rate) making the landlord ultimately no better off.
D) Competitor closures: If other businesses in your industry are closing out in your area then the landlord will be more motivated to keep you open, even at a lower rental rate. When any tenant closes out the landlord (or the landlord’s agent) tends to look for a similar use replacement tenant. If no other tenants want to take over your location the landlord is better off keeping you open.
As I write this article, I am flying back from New York. Yesterday I was a guest speaker at a large business expo. One struggling business-owner told me that she just discovered that 30% of her co-tenants have been paying little or no rent for the past few months due to the recession. Could this be true, and how could she also pay less rent, was what she wanted to know. In commercial real estate it’s every tenant for himself. No two landlords are the same but they all want and need cash flow from rent-paying tenants. Chances are you won’t be the first (or last) tenant to approach the landlord for a rent break – so why not do it now?
Here are a couple realistic tips for getting a rent break:
- Be prepared to ask, ask and ask again.
- Put your request to the landlord or property manager both in writing and verbally.
- Do your homework by determining if market rents have declined, and find out what other tenants are doing.
- If you want some professional help, don’t turn to an attorney (landlords hate getting letters from lawyers about rent reductions). You need a Professional Lease Consultant who can do a market analysis and who will speak to your landlord at a real estate level, not from a legal perspective.
If a landlord has to choose between seeing your business close down, or giving you a rent break it might actually be easier and cheaper for him/her to reduce your rent, right now, mid-term. For a no-obligation consultation, e-mail me and let’s talk about your situation.