Sign a long-term commercial lease for rental concessions

Landlords prefer commercial tenants sign long-term leases (greater than 5 years), as this provides them with stability of income and a guaranteed ongoing tenancy. As a consequence, landlords are more flexible when negotiating long term commercial leases and will provide:

• Extensive contribution to the fit-out.
• Longer rent-free period.

Implementation process:

• Consider whether a short or long-term lease meets your business objectives – for tenants wanting to establish themselves in a specific location, long term leases are ideal.
• When signing a long-term lease insist on proportional concessions from the landlord.
• Get reasonable ‘out’ clauses built into the lease – as a minimum, you need am ‘option to sublease’ and an ‘option to sell the business and assign’.