Drafting, Negotiating, and Reviewing Commercial and Residential Lease Agreements

Regardless of the type of business of your client, the particulars of your practice, or the geographic location in which you or your clients do business, it is inevitable that at some point you will encounter a residential or commercial lease agreement. For example, you might be called upon by a client to draft such an agreement or to review an existing lease. Similarly, you might represent an investor who acquires commercial properties. More than likely, at some point you will be asked to review and comment on an existing commercial lease agreement in connection with one of the acquired properties, or you might have to prepare such an agreement in conjunction with an upcoming purchase. Alternatively, you might represent a client who is buying a home; however, there is a tenant in the home and you are given a lease agreement to review to determine when and how the tenant can be evicted.

Lease agreements can be lengthy, complicated, and tedious to prepare and review; however, their importance cannot be overstated. It is rarely a wise decision to operate or do business where there is no lease agreement in place or where one has not been reduced to writing. This program will undertake a general overview of lease agreements-both commercial and residential-and discuss and analyze the necessary terms that should be in these agreements along with some of the many nuances that practitioners can anticipate when drafting or reviewing lease agreements.

This course, presented by Ken Biedzynski, Esq. of Goldzweig, Green, Eiger & Biedzynski, L.L.C, will review legal issues relating to the above topics and also provide and discuss applicable forms that practitioners will need to use to achieve their objectives.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the standard and/or necessary items that should appear in either a residential or commercial lease agreement
2. Determine when drafting a lease agreement, what methodology the practitioner adhere to
3. Review common considerations that should be addressed in most lease agreements
4. Discuss reviewing and drafting guideline
5. Provide practical guidance for practitioners representing residential and commercial landlords and tenants in the review and/or preparation of commercial and residential lease agreements