Significant Clauses in Commercial Lease that Tenants Need to Know

When you sign on to a commercial property on lease, a contract for the same needs to be carefully executed and planned. There is generally a massive rental outgo in commercial establishments and therefore, the premises to be taken on rent needs to be completely checked. The rental agreement becomes a vital part of your business and the conditions therein will affect your work and operations, as long as you are on those premises. 

Let’s look at some of the important clauses in a commercial lease India that a lessee should be aware of:

Competitor Clause: It’s imperative that you try to get a competitor clause in the leasing contract. This clause will prevent the landlord from renting out space in the same building, in which you are shifting, to your competitor. This can work out to be extremely useful, especially if you’re a retailer. 

Concessions in Rent: You need to find out if the landlord can offer specific relaxations, such as waiving the rent for the initial one or two months of the lease duration. Landlords can be flexible if the premises have been available for quite some time. Other relaxations can comprise sharing of renovation expenses or a paint job for the premises that will be paid for by the landlord. 

Gross Rent Lease or Net Rent Lease: There needs to be sufficient clarity between your landlord and you, about the elements other than the rent, such as maintenance fees, property tax, insurance, and expenditures towards common areas.When it is about the gross rental deed, you will be responsible for paying the rent and other relevant expenses. In a net lease deed, you will only be entrusted with the task of paying the base rent. 

Lease Termination Conditions: This is a significant clause in commercial lease. Inspect the conditions, under which the landlord can end the lease, as they can often be tight. One needs to plan for circumstances where the building is sold by the landlord, while the lease term has not finished. 

Lease Renewal Clause: Lease tenure of one or two years will offer you the flexibility, especially if you own a small business, to move out for expansion or to better premises when needed. Nevertheless, there needs to be a clause to renew the agreement, after the initial one or two years, at the same rent or a hike that has been agreed upon mutually. When you take a commercial space on rent, your leasing agreement needs to have a proposed escalation in rentals in writing, in case you opt to renew the contract. 

Security Deposit and its Return 

There will be a set sum that you would have to deposit with the landlord as security. This security deposit will be equivalent to two or three months’ rent. You need to try and negotiate the amount you have to keep as the security deposit. If you find that there are numerous vacant establishments in that neighborhood or if the landlord is not corporate, there is more scope for negotiation to work. Tenants need to also inspect the conditions relating to the return of the security deposit. 

In a nutshell, these are a couple of the significant clauses in a commercial lease every tenant should be aware of. 

CRE Matrix will give you all the leasing data including clauses across businesses and sectors. 

For more such exciting analysis and details on real estate, visit CRE Matrix.

Real Estate 101 – All About Commercial Property Leasing in India

The real estate industry is regarded as one of the most universally recognized sectors. It contains four sub-sectors including housing, hospitability, retail, and commercial. The evolution of this industry is accompanied by the development in the corporate setting and the need for office space as well as urban and semi-urban accommodations. 

In India, the real estate sector is considered to be the second-highest employment generator, following the agriculture industry. It is anticipated that this sector will gain more non-resident Indian (NRI) investment, both long term as well as short term. Bengaluru is believed to be the most preferred property destination for NRIs currently. 

While there is a high demand for purchasing commercial properties, there is a rise in leasing commercial lease India as well following the reduction in the severity of the pandemic. 

What is Commercial Leasing?

commercial leasing India is essentially a lease that is utilized for a commercial property where a company would conduct its business. These leases comprise an array of unique terms, including tasks connected to the upkeep of the property. 

Unlike residential leases which are quite easy to comprehend, a commercial lease can be a little more complicated as it comes with numerous terms and conditions. Moreover, commercial property on lease is notonly given out to people but also to entities like the sole proprietorship, corporates, or HUF. 

Kinds of Leasing Structures in India

On a broad level, there are roughly two main types of leases in India:

Financial Lease

It refers to a long-term duration lease. It encompasses the capital outlay in addition to the required rate of return on funds for the duration of the lease. In this case, the lessor plans to cover the expenses of the capital of the property and also wants to acquire some required rate of return. This financial lease cannot be canceled and the lessee has to make several payments in order to use the property. 

In this case, the property rights continue to stay with the owner during the lease period. However, when the lease is about to expire, the tenant party is provided the choice to buy said property by paying the residual money. The amount is generally estimated at 10% of the value of the property or less. 

This kind of lease can be observed as a loan. The lessee will keep paying the lease rent and pay the remaining amount in the end to own the property.

Operating Lease 

When it comes to operating lease, the legal ownership of the property remains in the hands of the owner of the property. The owner only spreads the right to use his property for economic uses or business purposes for a pre-defined duration of time. 

Once the duration of the lease is coming to an end, it can be determined whether to lengthen the lease and continue to allow the usage of the property to the lessor or terminate the contract. In this case, the ownership always lies with the true owner throughout its run. 

If you wish to look for commercial properties for rent, you can take the help of India’s best real estate data analytics company – CRE Matrix – that allows stakeholders across different industries to view significant leasing data of various companies.