Commercial Leases
Whether you are a landlord or a tenant, a commercial lease is an interest in real property and should be treated seriously. Not only is a lease an interest in property but usually leases also bind the parties to multi-year obligations and to rental streams that are very significant.
DuMoulin Boskovich has the experience to provide advice on leases and to allow you to understand how a lease effects a considerable amount of risk allocation as between the parties. It is important to remember that the words you put into your lease could be with you for years and that if there is a dispute it will often be decided on a careful legal analysis of those terms and not what the parties thought they were saying in the document. For this reason it is important to have one of our lawyers carefully review the provisions of a lease or any requests for amendments to existing lease agreements.
Leases can also incorporate options to purchase and renewal options that should be carefully considered and drafted so that they are clear as to when, how and under what conditions they can be exercised.
Lease Agreement Drafting
We can give advice on drafting:
• general lease provisions,
• renewal options,
• provisions regarding landlord's and tenant's work,
• rent clauses,
• options to purchase,
• enforcement and termination provisions, and
• personal covenants.
Lease Enforcement
Not all tenants succeed in their businesses and you should receive legal advice on how you deal with the defaulting tenant as if you do not properly adhere to the provisions of the lease or overstep your rights you could end up giving the Tenant the right to claim against you or adversely affecting your ability to recover all your losses from the defaulting tenant and covenantors.
DuMoulin Boskovich LLP's lawyers can provide advice and assistance in:
• suing for rental arrears,
• advising on how to properly exercise a landlord's remedies
• properly terminating a lease so that full recovery remains available to the landlord,
• suing for damages for the unexpired term of the lease,
• dealing with a tenant's or landlord's trustee in bankruptcy,
• obtaining possession from a tenant who refuses to leave,
• defending a tenant from a landlord who exceeds his rights,
• enforcing a tenant's rights under the lease, and
• suing the covenantor.
Residential Tenancies
The majority of tenancies in the province are landlord tenant relationships. These are highly regulated by statute and by the regulations under the statute. A landlord must take the proper steps in order to evict tenants and retain damage deposits. A tenant also has rights that must be honoured by a landlord. We can advise both landlords and tenants on these issues. |
