Renting Your First Commercial Space? Know How Exclusive Use Clauses Work

If this is your first time negotiating a commercial lease for your business, you need to be careful. While there are numerous laws and regulations designed to protect the unwary residential renter, the law generally presumes that business owners are savvy enough to look after themselves. There's very little that can protect you from a bad lease, except knowledge.

One of the most important things that any business owner thinking of renting a space should understand is the purpose and value of an exclusive use clause.

What Is an Exclusive Use Clause?

Exclusive use clauses restrict your landlord's right to lease another space in the same shopping plaza, center or mall to another tenant whose business might detract from yours. They're very common in shopping centers, plazas, and malls becuase they're seen as a necessary protection by many commercial tenants.

For example, if you plan to open a coffee shop in a suburban plaza, you don't want your landlord to lease out a second space in the same plaza to another coffee shop. That sort of direct competition could easily have a detrimental effect on your business.

What Should You Keep in Mind during Negotiations?

First of all, remember that you need everything in writing. The mutual understanding that you seem to have with the landlord during negotiations can vanish down the line if there is ever a conflict.

Your clause should do the following things:

  1. Clearly and completely protect your interests by limiting the type and number of other potential tenants that can engage in operations similar to yours.
  2. Obligate the landlord to monitor other tenants for violations and enforce the exclusive use clause.

An effective clause has to be specific. For example, if the clause in the contract for your coffee shop only specifically bars the landlord from allowing another coffee shop to open up in the plaza, you wouldn't have any recourse against a doughnut shop that happens to sell coffee on the side—no matter how badly that might hurt your business.

You also need to make certain that your landlord can actually enforce the exclusive use clause. Ask if the existing tenants are subject to provisions that prevent them from violating the exclusive use contracts of other tenants. Are the tenants also required to get the landlord's approval before changing how they use the space they rent? If not, your exclusive use clause may not have any real value because the landlord won't be able to enforce it.

Exclusive use clauses are one of the trickier aspects of commercial leases to handle. If you're concerned about your ability to manage these negotiations on your own, an experienced real estate attorney might be able to help.

About Me

A Little Legal Know-how Helps Everyone in Life

When I was a child and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always told them I wanted to be a lawyer. I even followed an attorney one day during a school job shadowing experience. I really found the law interesting, and my favorite shows to watch were, and still are, court shows. However, when it came time to choose a major in college, I chose another career path that I now enjoy. However, I still love law and do some legal research on a regular basis just for fun. I decided that it would be a shame to let all of my legal knowledge "go to waste" by not sharing it with others, so I decided to start a blog to share my legal tips on along with some interesting legal cases and stories. I hope you come back often!

Search

Categories

Latest Posts

12 September 2024
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is never easy, and navigating the probate process on your own can be overwhelming. This is where a probate attorn

12 July 2024
Getting a traffic ticket can be a frustrating and stressful experience. Not only do you have to deal with the inconvenience of paying fines and potent

17 May 2024
A dog bite can be a harrowing ordeal, resulting in physical harm, emotional turmoil, and financial strain. While seeking legal action may not be your