Question 1

How is rent abatement addressed in a Florida lease?

Accepted Answer

Lease provisions: well-drafted commercial leases include: casualty abatement (rent is abated if the premises are damaged by fire, flood, or other casualty and cannot be used), construction abatement (rent is abated during periods when the landlord is performing construction that materially interferes with the tenant’s use), service interruption abatement (rent is reduced if the landlord fails to provide essential services: HVAC, elevator, or utilities), and free rent periods (the tenant receives a specified number of months of free rent as a lease concession).

Question 2

What is a "co-tenancy" rent abatement clause?

Accepted Answer

Co-tenancy: in a shopping center lease, a co-tenancy clause provides rent abatement if: an anchor tenant closes (the small tenant’s lease depends on the anchor’s presence to drive traffic), or a specified percentage of the shopping center is vacant (the tenant receives reduced rent until occupancy reaches the specified threshold). The clause typically provides: reduced rent (the tenant pays a percentage of sales instead of fixed rent), or the right to terminate (if the co-tenancy condition is not cured within a specified period). These clauses protect tenants from being in a dying shopping center.

Question 3

How should a tenant negotiate rent abatement provisions?

Accepted Answer

Negotiation: the tenant should seek: broad abatement triggers (not just fire; include all casualties, construction, and service failures), quick commencement (abatement should start immediately upon the triggering event, not after a waiting period), full abatement (if the premises are substantially unusable, not just partial), right to terminate (if the condition is not cured within a specified period), and no self-help limitations (the lease should allow the tenant to seek abatement without waiving other remedies). The landlord will typically seek: narrow triggers, waiting periods, caps on abatement, and requirements that the tenant continue operations during the disruption.

Rent Abatement: in Lease Agreements

Rent Abatement in Leases

Common Provisions

Co-Tenancy

Negotiation

Related Terms

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