Understand Your Rights as a Commercial Tenant

You may not own the building where your business resides, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have rights. The problem is that some commercial landlords try their hardest to make you believe that you don’t. Whether you’re struggling with understanding commercial leases or you’re having problems with your commercial landlord, here’s what you need to know.

You Have a Lease Term

Many people seek legal help against commercial landlords because they have been evicted from their business premises. While sometimes those landlords have just cause, other times, they don’t.

Your right as a commercial tenant is to occupy a building under a tenancy agreement for the length of time specified in that agreement. You can’t be evicted without just cause, and you must be given 30 days of written notice.

You Can Remove Trade Fixtures

Residential real estate and commercial real estate are very different from each other. When you rent a home, you generally can’t make any structural or aesthetic changes to make it more suitable for yourself. Regarding commercial real estate, you can with the landlord’s permission.

Trade fixtures can be complicated. You can make improvements to the premises to make it suitable for operating your business, such as installing shelving units on the walls. These can become the landlord’s property when you leave.

However, as a tenant, you have the right to remove trade fixtures, which are business tenant property, when your lease expires. Referring to the fine print of your lease agreement can provide clarity on the two.

You’re Entitled to a Well-Maintained Property

Many tenants seeking professional representation do so because they believe their landlord failed in their duty to provide general upkeep and maintenance. The law states that a landlord must maintain the property, but your agreement with them determines at what level.

In most situations, commercial landlords must take care of any structural, plumbing, and electrical problems. However, tenants must keep the property in the same condition it was leased to them.

You Have a Right to Privacy

Just as you have a right to privacy in a residential property, you should be afforded the same privacy in a commercial property. Many people wonder how tenants can seek legal advice for privacy when a landlord owns the property, but it’s your right.

As long as what you are doing with the property is legal and within the parameters of your tenancy agreement, a landlord doesn’t have a right to enter the property you’ve leased from them. To do so, they must provide reasonable notice and have your permission first.

Full Transparency for Termination and Relocation Provisions

Many parts of commercial leases don’t make sense to all commercial tenants. For some, termination and relocation provisions are among the most confusing. Fortunately, a commercial tenant expert can assist with making these provisions as straightforward as possible. They may even be able to negotiate better terms.

Typically, landlords include a section in their agreement that gives them the right to terminate a lease and relocate a tenant. However, it may not always clarify who covers those relocation costs. If it doesn’t, ask for this information to be included and for the landlord to cover such expenses.

Even though some landlords may make you feel like you don’t have rights, you do. The more aware of your rights, the more confidence you can have in signing a new commercial tenancy agreement.

Author Bio

Author Name: Armughan Zaigham 

I am a passionate blogger who loves to write about business. Besides being a keen observer of human behavior towards various aspects of life and its impact on our daily lifestyle, I am also a sincere pet-lover. I have learnt through loving my pets that life is nothing but selfless love for all.