Lease Clauses Worth Knowing

ESCALATION clauses raise rent by formula (CPI index, fixed steps, or expense pass-throughs). USE clauses limit what the tenant may do; EXCLUSIVE-use clauses promise a retail tenant no in-center competitor. NONDISTURBANCE, SUBORDINATION & ATTORNMENT (SNDA) agreements sort out what happens when the property is financed or foreclosed: the lease subordinates to the mortgage, the lender agrees not to disturb a performing tenant, and the tenant agrees to recognize the new owner. HOLDOVER clauses set (often punitive) rent for staying past the term. RENEWAL options and rights of first offer/refusal give tenants future flexibility — all of it negotiated up front, none of it implied.