Disputes involve rent and additional charges, maintenance and repair responsibility, permitted use, assignment, exclusivity provisions, and default and termination rights. Commercial leases are enforced according to their terms with limited implied protections.
Consumer protections applying to residential tenancies generally do not apply.
Alternative Names:
Commercial Leasing Dispute, Lease Litigation
Why it Matters?
The freedom of contract governing commercial leases means the document controls almost entirely, and courts enforce harsh provisions between sophisticated parties that would be unenforceable residentially. That places the analytical burden on reading the lease rather than looking for statutory protection. Notice and cure provisions are where defaults are won and lost, since a landlord that failed to follow them cannot terminate regardless of the underlying breach.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
How do commercial and residential leases differ?
Where are defaults won and lost?
