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In the course of my day to day business I am often asked by landlords if I have a copy of a lease they can use. This always causes me to cringe, and if a landlord thought about it for a second they would cringe too.

Why is that?

A property manager that has been in practice for several years should be able to give a client practical recommendations on most leases but it is important for landlords to remember that property managers are not lawyers nor insurance experts. A landlord should always seek professional advice in these areas.

Just as there are many different property types, leases also tailored toward specific asset types such as industrial, office, retail or mixed use premises. A lease that is tailored toward an industrial building would simply not work for an office or retail space. Also, due to there being so many different standard form leases, a lot of times leases have been cut and pasted together. This can lead to conflicting terms and statements within the same lease.

If a property manager does in fact give you a lease – I recommend that you have your lawyer and insurance agent look at it to ensure there are no obvious discrepancies or holes that could come back to haunt you at a later date.