What makes a commercial property lease different from a residential property lease?
A commercial lease is used by a tenant to rent space for a business while a residential lease is used by a tenant to rent a home or space to personally reside in. Commercial leases are typically viewed as contracts between knowledgeable business people. Consequently, less governmental protection is available for tenants of commercial property than tenants of residential property. Because the parties are knowledgeable business people, the underlying belief is that they should be able to negotiate the terms of the lease to their liking. Consistent with this idea, the parties of a commercial lease typically have greater bargaining power and more negotiating ability than the parties of a residential lease.
