We routinely review or draft commercial leases for both landlords and tenants, and we draft residential leases for landlords. If you own and lease property, you need to have a strong lease that is tailored to your specific property. Standard form leases that you can obtain on-line or through internet legal providers often do not take into account the specific use of the property and are not geared to Virginia. A commercial lease for industrial property or a warehouse needs to cover different issues than a lease for an office or a restaurant. Shopping center leases and other leases for property owned by large commercial landlords are much less negotiable. Common area maintenance, insurance and liability provisions can be very stringent. We have extensive experience with all these leases, and we can handle all your commercial leasing needs.
If you lease property to a tenant who is not paying rent or is otherwise defaulting on a lease you should be very pro-active. The process can take months, so it is important to be aggressive. Declaring default, recovering possession of the property and collecting what is owed should be clearly outlined in the lease. For commercial property you may be able to take possession of the property, change the locks and claim a lien on the tenant's business assets, but that has to be done carefully. Filing an unlawful detainer action in court to evict the tenant and recover rent and costs may be necessary. We do not handle litigation, but we can assist you with lease defaults, and we will make a referral to an attorney to handle an eviction, if necessary.