About the Course
Introduction
This CLE webinar will examine how to guide tenant clients through conducting due diligence to determine landlord financial stability before entering into or renewing a commercial lease. The panel will also discuss drafting considerations for key lease provisions to protect tenant clients' interests should the landlord experience any financial downturn that impacts their ability to perform their lease obligations.
Description
In a volatile commercial real estate market where interest rates remain high and vacancy rates remain below their pre-pandemic levels, many commercial landlords are experiencing financial difficulties. When entering into a new lease or lease term extensions, commercial tenants take on numerous risks and liabilities that are compounded if a landlord is financially unstable. Tenants' counsel should be able to guide their clients through landlord due diligence and build tenant protections into the lease to mitigate risk for their clients.
Due diligence considerations include assessing landlord financial stability such as determining whether the landlord is in default under any financing secured by the building the tenant will occupy; or whether the building is fully occupied, and the tenants are paying rent to generate sufficient cash flow to fulfill any landlord obligations for building operations/maintenance.
If a landlord is in default or there is concern of future financial instability, the lease should include terms protecting tenant clients against those potential risks.
Listen as our expert panel discusses how to guide commercial tenants through conducting landlord due diligence before entering into or renewing a commercial lease, and how to protect tenant clients against landlord financial instability through key lease provisions.
Presented By
Mr. Liebman represents buyers, tenants and investors in the acquisition, leasing, purchasing and execution of build-to-suit transactions of commercial buildings and land. With 30+ years of industry experience and more than 500 transactions, valued at over $900 million, he enables his clients to make informed real estate decisions that fulfill all objectives and requirements: economic, logistical and otherwise. As a former Executive Board Member, past Chicago Chapter President and multiple committee member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, Mr. Liebman is highly respected locally and nationally, and leverages his many relationships to create significant and unique value for his clients. Previous employment includes 10+ years with each of CBRE and Colliers International; 5+ years as a corporate, real estate and litigation attorney; and 5+ years at a custom designer and fabricator of special purpose steel door systems and hardware.
Ms. Zana is co-chair of Shipman's Real Estate, Environmental, Energy, Land Use and Construction Department, and a partner in a national real estate practice that includes New York-trained lawyers who practiced at large national and international law firms before joining Shipman. She is able to deliver incisive, strategic and efficient counsel to clients at a significantly lower cost than many local and national competitors. Ms. Zana's commercial real estate clients are situated throughout the United States with a focus on New York’s tri-state area, and include private developers, public companies, institutional owners, banks and lessees of millions of square feet of real estate across the country in the luxury residential, mixed-use, retail, commercial office, data centers and colocation facilities, hotel and hospitality, health care and higher education industries.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Date + Time
- event
Thursday, April 17, 2025
- schedule
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- Introduction
- State of the commercial real estate market
- Commercial tenant risks when landlords are financially unstable
- Due diligence practices
- Landlord financial stability
- Operational history
- Key lease provisions to protect tenants against current or future landlord financial instability
- Practitioner takeaways
The panel will review these and other important considerations:
- Why should tenants conduct due diligence of the landlord's financial stability before entering into or renewing a commercial lease?
- What key information should be examined during the due diligence process?
- What provisions should be included in a commercial lease to best protect tenants against current or future landlord financial instability?
