A shopping center’s tenants may include gyms, retailers, and restaurants. However, the landlord will likely present all tenants of the shopping center with the same boilerplate “form lease” that does not account for the tenants’ different needs and interests.

For example, the form lease may provide that:

"Tenant shall not allow or permit any offensive or obnoxious vibration, noise, odor or other undesirable effect to emanate from the Premises."

However, cooking odors are a natural part of operating a restaurant. They can also be the source of unpleasant conflicts with tenants. Therefore, a restaurant tenant must ensure it will not be in default due to unavoidable aspects of its business. For example:

“Tenant shall not allow or permit any offensive or obnoxious vibration, noise, odor or other undesirable effect to emanate from the Premises. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Landlord understands that some odors are necessarily associated with the operation of a restaurant. The presence of food odors in the exterior of the Premises will not constitute a breach of this Lease.”

The lease should provide for detailed notice of the alleged offense and a standard to distinguish trivial complaints from an actual nuisance. The tenant should also request a reasonable time to remedy the problem.

Time spent tailoring the landlord’s form lease can avoid costly disputes that arise under a lease that fails to account for the realities of a tenant’s business. An attorney can not only negotiate a better deal for a tenant, but also tailor the lease to suit the tenant’s business. If we can help, give us a call at 248.477.6300.