The first thing to realise when you are about to enter into a lease for a commercial property is that there is no such thing as a standard contract.

I get concerned that many individuals and organisations believe that commercial property leases are standard [they are not] and that any “standard” variations are simply the preserve of the landlord [they are not]. (more…)

One of the key impacts on the currently flooded commercial property market is the number of large corporate tenants moving to new buildings.

In Auckland, there’s a growing list of large banks, insurance companies, management consultants and engineering firms moving to bigger, better, brighter and greener premises.

(more…)

My predictions of the potential for “landlord wars” in the commercial rental property glut [see blog article of 16-Feb] created headlines on TV3’s ASB Business programme yesterday. Click here to view a video of my “Landlord wars loom for commercial property sector” interview with TV3’s Michael Wilson.

Ratchet clauses in commercial property leases are something tenants love to hate.

That’s not surprising because the implication is that with a ratchet clause, rents always go up at the time of a rent review.

The ratchet clause in a lease is often that; a set in concrete element of the lease that means landlords can and will automatically ratchet up a rental when it is time for the lease to be reviewed. Just this week I (more…)