A commercial lease is often the largest contract a small business ever signs, and the first draft is almost always written by the landlord’s side. A commercial lease attorney reads the lease the way a courtroom eventually would, and fixes the terms that would hurt, before anyone signs. VK Law reviews, negotiates, drafts, and litigates leases across California for both landlords and tenants, from single storefronts to multi-tenant and industrial properties.
- Commercial leases are negotiable, and almost every clause (rent escalations, operating costs, renewal options, guaranties) affects what the space really costs.
- California requires every commercial lease to disclose whether the property has had a disability-access (CASp) inspection, with real remedies if the rules are skipped.
- Since January 1, 2025, small “qualified commercial tenants” (microenterprises, small restaurants, and small nonprofits) have new protections under state law.
- VK Law works both sides of the table: landlords and tenants, commercial, multi-tenant, and industrial.
- To talk with VK Law about a lease, call 877-780-4727.
What a Commercial Lease Attorney Reviews
The rent number on page one is rarely where a lease goes wrong. The expensive terms are usually buried further in:
- Operating costs and CAM charges: what share of taxes, insurance, and common-area maintenance the tenant pays, and whether there is any cap or audit right.
- Escalations: how and when rent increases, and what index or percentage drives it.
- Term, renewal options, and early exit: whether the tenant can stay, leave, or renegotiate as the business changes.
- Assignment and subletting: whether the business can be sold or the space shared without losing the lease.
- Personal guaranties: what the owners are personally on the hook for, and for how long.
- Maintenance, repair, and improvement duties: who fixes the roof, the HVAC, and the tenant improvements, and who pays.
- Default and remedies: how much room there is to cure a missed payment before the lease unravels.
Each of these is negotiable. Which ones matter most depends on which side of the table you sit on, and we work on both.
California Rules Worth Knowing Before You Sign
Disability-access disclosure (CASp). Every California commercial lease must state whether the premises have been inspected by a Certified Access Specialist. If an inspection happened, the tenant is generally entitled to a copy of the report before signing, and if the report is not delivered at least 48 hours beforehand, the tenant may have 72 hours after signing to rescind. A landlord also may not prohibit a tenant from obtaining its own CASp inspection. The details live in Civil Code section 1938.
Protections for small tenants. For leases signed or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, California law gives “qualified commercial tenants” (microenterprises, restaurants with fewer than 10 employees, and nonprofits with fewer than 20) new protections, including limits on how landlords pass through building operating costs under Civil Code section 1950.9, along with related notice requirements under the same 2024 legislation. Many landlords’ standard forms have not caught up; both sides should know whether these rules apply to their tenancy.
Representing Landlords and Tenants
VK Law represents property owners and landlords: drafting lease forms that hold up, screening problem terms, and enforcing the lease when a tenancy fails. We also represent business tenants, for whom the lease is usually the second-largest expense after payroll. We handle commercial, multi-tenant, and industrial leasing as part of our California real estate practice. We do not handle residential leases or residential landlord-tenant matters.
When a Lease Turns Into a Dispute
Rent defaults, repair standoffs, holdovers, and disputes over options and operating-cost reconciliations can usually be resolved by negotiation with the lease in hand. When they cannot, we litigate. See our commercial landlord-tenant page, which covers disputes, transactions, and the commercial eviction process.
Gross, Modified Gross, and Triple Net
The lease type decides who pays the building’s bills. In a gross lease, the rent number is close to the whole story: the landlord absorbs taxes, insurance, and maintenance. A modified gross lease splits them, often passing through increases over a base year. A triple net (NNN) lease pushes taxes, insurance, and common-area maintenance to the tenant on top of base rent, which is why two spaces with the same “rent” can differ enormously in real cost. Comparing offers means comparing total occupancy cost, not the headline number.
From Letter of Intent to Signature
Most commercial leases start with a letter of intent covering rent, term, improvements, and options. The LOI is where leverage is highest, and where parties accidentally bind themselves with careless language. From there: the landlord’s draft, negotiation rounds over the risk clauses, the guaranty conversation, and delivery-condition and tenant-improvement terms that decide when rent actually starts. We work every stage, for either side.
The Traps We See Most
For tenants: uncapped operating-cost pass-throughs with no audit right; relocation clauses that let the landlord move the business mid-term; personal guaranties with no sunset; restoration clauses that quietly obligate the tenant to un-build its improvements at surrender; and holdover rent at a punishing multiple. For landlords: vague use clauses that invite disputes, consent standards written loosely enough to litigate, guaranties that expire with the first amendment, and delivery-condition promises the building cannot keep on schedule.
How We Help
We review and mark up leases before signing, negotiate with the other side’s counsel or broker, draft lease forms and amendments for property owners, advise on CASp and small-tenant compliance, and handle the dispute when one arrives. Business owners with entity or contract questions can also draw on our California business law practice.
To talk with VK Law about a lease, call 877-780-4727. The consultation is free.
Reviewed by Alan Khalfin, Managing Partner (California). Last reviewed: July 8, 2026.
This page is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is usually worth it. A commercial lease binds the business for years, and terms like operating-cost pass-throughs, escalations, and personal guaranties are negotiable before signing and very hard to fix afterward. A focused review can catch the handful of clauses that will actually cost money.
Yes. The landlord’s form is a starting point, not a statute. How much leverage a tenant has depends on the market, the space, and the landlord, but caps on operating costs, cure periods, renewal options, and guaranty limits are commonly negotiated even in small deals.
A Certified Access Specialist inspects property for disability-access compliance. California requires every commercial lease to disclose whether the premises have been inspected, and gives tenants rights around receiving the report, including, in some cases, a short window to rescind the lease if it was not provided in time.
Under California law effective January 1, 2025, it is a microenterprise, a restaurant with fewer than 10 employees, or a nonprofit with fewer than 20 employees that gives the landlord written notice of its status. Qualified tenants get added protections, including limits on building operating-cost pass-throughs.
Both. We draft and enforce leases for property owners, and we review, negotiate, and litigate leases for business tenants. Working both sides means we know where the other side’s form is likely to bite.
Yes: commercial, multi-tenant, and industrial leasing across California, from drafting and review through disputes. We do not handle residential leases or residential landlord-tenant matters, for either side.
A lease where the tenant pays property taxes, insurance, and common-area maintenance on top of base rent. The headline rent looks lower, but the tenant carries the building’s operating costs, so the real comparison between spaces is total occupancy cost, and the caps and audit rights around those pass-throughs matter.
Usually, if it is negotiated before signing. Common structures include a capped dollar amount, a “burn-down” that shrinks the guaranty as the tenant performs, or a sunset after a set number of years. After a default, the time for limiting a guaranty has passed.
