James Bangerter, Commercial Team Leader, discusses commercial property leases.
A common cause of disputes between commercial landlords and their tenants is confusion as to whose responsibility it is to pay for certain expenses during the term of a lease. Most parties rely on using the standard Auckland District Law Society lease form.
While this is a very good lease, it does take some expertise to interpret some of the clauses involved with establishing cost responsibilities.
At APM we are able to assist at the beginning of a lease in recommending variations or additions to the lease which will help in identifying responsibilities for expenses that may occur further down the track and sometimes years into a long term lease. This can be especially helpful when there are specific fixtures within a tenancy, shared common areas, Body Corporate expenses and legal documentation preparation to name just a few.
We find that experienced tenants and landlords have many and varied extra clauses in their leases which assist all parties, including property managers, in reducing time spent identifying who pays for what. In most cases this upfront clarification can help to avoid substantial legal costs later.
Talk to our team today if you have any questions regarding commercial leases or the professional management of your commercial property.
Kind regards,
James Bangerter
Team Leader – Commercial Property Management
Auckland Property Management
