Houston’s Retail Industry Is Booming – Here’s What You Need To Know About Commercial Leases

Texas is known as a business friendly state, and the city of Houston is no exception. The city of Houston is experiencing a huge boom in the retail industry, which is great for the city, but there are a few things business owners need to keep in mind. As the retail industry expands, businesses will be leasing commercial spaces, and leasing agreements can not only be complicated, but also detrimental to the lessees.

Despite the closing of several large retailers like Sears and Toys ‘R’ Us, Houston added an additional 2.7 million square feet of new retail space according to a local commercial real estate firm. More importantly, the city is experiencing high occupation rates in its 160.5 million square feet of retail space across the city. This will put Houston in the top five cities for retail deal volume.

The retail industry sounds pretty enticing right now, and it is, but the complex and tricky terms of commercial leases can prove to be a deadly hidden threat. Very few people realize the dangers a bad lease can pose to their business. There are numerous ways commercial leases can put a business at risk. First, business owners need to keep in mind that lease agreements are designed to protect owners. This means a standard lease rarely has the lessee’s best interests in mind. There could be unfavorable terms in the lease that end up costing your business money or leading to eviction.

In addition to leases with unfavorable terms, leases can also cause issues when they aren’t specific. Your business likely has very specific and unique needs. The needs of a restaurant are very different from those of a hair salon or a boutique clothing store. If a lease fails to include language about your specific business, you may not have any legal grounds if a dispute arises.

Other aspects of commercial leases to consider include limitations on who the owner can rent surrounding space to, giving tenants the ability to terminate the lease under certain conditions, and whether the business owner renting the space will have to personally guarantee the lease.

Experienced Commercial Lease Attorneys

There are too many pitfalls possible in drafting and negotiating the terms of a commercial lease for anyone to enter into an agreement without an experienced attorney. At Adair Myers Graves Stevenson, our experienced commercial lease attorneys work with clients to understand their needs, and then negotiate and draft commercial leases on their behalves. Contact us today to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.