In commercial leases, there are many clauses for tenants to pay mindful attention to, in addition to reading the entire lease carefully, of course. However, the Lease Option clause is an extremely important one to be on the lookout for prior to signing a commercial office space lease. This is the clause which will tell you when, and if, you will be able to renew your lease when the time comes to do so. Even if you have no current plans to renew your commercial lease or are unsure as to whether you plan to stay in the location once your lease expires, it is always wise to ask for one of these clauses to be put into the lease, if it isn’t already.
Why Is A Lease Option Important?
There are a few reasons why tenants who lease office space should be sure to have a lease option included in their commercial lease. First, this type of option to renew provides the tenant with a future plan should they decide to stay in their office space and renew the lease for another term. It guarantees that you won’t have to pick up and move if you are not ready to when your current lease expires. Secondly, an option to renew in the lease will lay out the details of the cost of your rent when you renew and help you to be certain that the price at which you renew is acceptable to you. It provides you with a way to lock your current lease rent amount into place for the future. Lastly, with the cost it takes to relocate a business, you want to know that you won’t have to if you don’t want to. You can feel confident in knowing that you won’t have the expenses of relocation down the road.
When Is The Best Time To Exercise The Lease Option?
The best time to exercise a lease option to renew will depend on the language in your current lease (or the lease you are about to sign if this is your first time entering into a lease with the new landlord). The Lease Option clause will highlight when you must exercise your lease option in order for it to be valid. This will often depend on the state you are in and what the normal notice is for commercial tenants who wish to exercise their lease option with their landlords. Always pay close attention to the time period stated within the lease because if you fail to exercise your option to renew on time, your landlord basically doesn’t have to let you stay in the premises unless they want to overlook the delay in exercising the lease option and allow you to stay anyway.
Having a lease option in your commercial office space lease is simply a smart idea overall. Just because such a clause is included in the commercial office space lease does not lock you in to renewing your lease when the time comes. If you choose to move to a different location at the expiration of your current lease and not exercise the option to renew, you are free to do so. It is just a good idea to have such a clause in place should you wish to maintain your business at its current location for another lease term.
