Manhattan Commercial Lease Lawyer

Commercial Lease Attorney Serving Manhattan, NY

Manhattan is the most competitive commercial leasing market in the country. Whether you are a startup negotiating your first office lease in Midtown, a restaurateur securing space in the West Village, or a retailer expanding to SoHo or the Upper East Side, the lease you sign will be one of your largest financial commitments. A Manhattan commercial lease lawyer can identify problematic terms and negotiate protections before you are locked into a binding agreement.

Our firm reviews and negotiates commercial leases for tenants and landlords across Manhattan. We handle letter of intent review, rent escalation analysis, permitted use provisions, build-out and improvement allowances, assignment and subletting rights, and personal guaranty negotiations. Manhattan commercial leases are among the most complex in the country, often running 50 to 100 pages with detailed riders and exhibits that govern every aspect of occupancy.

Our office is located in Lower Manhattan's Financial District at 30 Broad Street. We work with tenants and landlords in commercial districts from the Financial District to Harlem, including Midtown, Chelsea, SoHo, Tribeca, the East Village, and the Upper West Side. Schedule a free consultation to discuss your commercial lease.

Commercial Lease Review and Negotiation in Brooklyn

Office Lease Review

Manhattan office lease negotiations are among the most complex in commercial real estate. Tenants in Midtown, FiDi, Hudson Yards, and other submarkets must navigate escalation clauses, build-out allowances, and restoration obligations. Manhattan's office market spans Class A towers in Midtown and the Financial District, creative loft spaces in Chelsea and SoHo, and newer developments in Hudson Yards and the World Trade Center complex. Office leases in Manhattan typically include detailed provisions for operating expense escalations, electricity (either direct meter, submeter, or rent inclusion), after-hours HVAC charges, cleaning specifications, and tenant improvement allowances. Our commercial lease attorneys analyze each financial term to ensure your total occupancy cost is transparent and manageable.

Retail and Restaurant Lease Attorney

Manhattan retail and restaurant lease negotiations involve some of the highest rental rates in the country, with key provisions including percentage rent, co-tenancy requirements, and demolition clauses. Manhattan restaurant lease negotiations involve some of the highest costs in the industry. Key provisions include rent escalation, use restrictions, kitchen infrastructure, liquor license cooperation clauses, and demolition clauses. Retail and restaurant leases in Manhattan involve some of the highest rents in the world and correspondingly high stakes. Permitted use clauses must precisely define your business operations, and restrictions on signage, sidewalk use, deliveries, and hours can directly affect revenue. Restaurant tenants need to verify grease trap capacity, ventilation and exhaust specifications, liquor license compatibility, and certificate of occupancy compliance. We negotiate these provisions for tenants on corridors from Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue to Bleecker Street, St. Marks Place, and Restaurant Row.

Industrial and Warehouse Lease Review

Manhattan's limited industrial inventory commands premium rents, particularly for last-mile distribution and specialized manufacturing. Industrial lease terms in Manhattan reflect the borough's unique real estate economics. While Manhattan has limited traditional industrial space, commercial tenants in areas like the Garment District, parts of Chelsea, and Lower Manhattan may lease spaces with light manufacturing, production, or storage components. These leases involve unique considerations around building use restrictions, freight elevator access, floor load capacity, and insurance requirements. We review these provisions to protect tenants from liability and operational limitations.

Lease Renewal and Extension

Manhattan commercial tenants face some of the most consequential lease renewal negotiations in commercial real estate. Renewal terms, including rent escalation, can significantly impact your business's operating costs for the next lease term. Manhattan lease renewals are high-stakes negotiations. Market conditions can shift significantly over a five or ten-year lease term, and renewing without legal review means accepting terms that may no longer reflect current market rates or your business needs. Our attorneys review renewal options, negotiate rent resets, update improvement and maintenance provisions, and secure terms that reflect the current market.

What Manhattan Tenants and Landlords Should Know About Commercial Leases

Manhattan's commercial leasing market is segmented by neighborhood, building class, and tenant type. Office rents in a Class A Midtown tower operate on a completely different scale than a creative office in a Flatiron walk-up, and a retail lease on Fifth Avenue involves different landlord expectations than a storefront on the Lower East Side. Working with a lease attorney who understands these market distinctions helps you negotiate terms that are appropriate for your location and business.

The good guy guaranty is a critical provision in almost every Manhattan commercial lease. Under a standard good guy guaranty, the individual guarantor remains personally liable only until the tenant properly vacates and surrenders the space. The negotiation of the specific surrender conditions, notice periods, and any carve-outs for holdover or damage is essential. Manhattan landlords often push for broad guaranty language, and without legal review, guarantors can face exposure far beyond what they intended.

Manhattan tenants should closely examine rent escalation structures, which can include fixed annual increases, CPI adjustments, operating expense pass-throughs, and real estate tax escalations. In a long-term Manhattan lease, these compounding increases can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to your total occupancy cost. Our firm models these projections so you understand your full financial commitment.

Landlord Representation for Manhattan Commercial Properties

We represent Manhattan landlords and building owners who lease commercial space to tenants. Whether you own an office building in Midtown, a retail property in SoHo, or a mixed-use building on the Upper East Side, our attorneys draft leases that protect your asset while maintaining the flexibility to attract quality tenants.

For landlords, we draft standard lease forms and riders, structure good guy guaranties, negotiate tenant improvement allowances, and address insurance, indemnification, and liability provisions. We advise on assignment and subletting clauses, co-tenancy provisions, and exclusivity restrictions that protect your building's tenant mix and revenue.

Why Manhattan Clients Choose Agarunov Law Firm

Agarunov Law Firm represents Manhattan commercial tenants and landlords from our Lower Manhattan office. Our familiarity with the local commercial market gives us a practical edge when negotiating your lease.

• Experienced in Manhattan office, retail, restaurant, and mixed-use leases across all neighborhoods
• Representation for both tenants and landlords throughout Manhattan
• Located in Manhattan's Financial District at 30 Broad Street for convenient access
• Direct attorney access throughout the lease review and negotiation process
• Licensed in both New York and New Jersey for businesses operating across state lines

How Our Commercial Lease Review Process Works

Our lease review process is designed to be efficient and thorough so you can move forward with confidence.

• Step 1: Initial Consultation. We discuss your business needs, the property you are considering, and your goals for the lease term. This consultation is free and helps us understand the key issues in your transaction.
• Step 2: Lease Review. We review the complete lease document, including all riders, exhibits, and amendments. We identify provisions that create risk or financial exposure and prepare a detailed summary of the key terms.
• Step 3: Negotiation. We communicate directly with the landlord's attorney to negotiate changes to the lease. We focus on the provisions that have the greatest financial and operational impact on your business, including rent, escalations, permitted use, build-out, guaranty, and exit provisions.
• Step 4: Final Review and Execution. Once negotiations are complete, we review the final lease to confirm all agreed changes are reflected. We walk you through the executed document so you understand your obligations before you sign.