Itemise every charge
Headline rent is not the cost.
Why the rent was not the cost
Because the quarterly reconciliation arrived three months after the business opened.
How we work
Itemise it before signature
Commercial space is compared on headline rent, which is the one number that reliably understates the cost. Common area maintenance, recoverable taxes and insurance can add a third again, and a tenant signing on rent alone finds out at the first reconciliation — by which point the lease is years long.
Fit-out is the other early dispute. Who does what, who pulls which permit, and by when, decides whether a business opens on its planned date or pays rent on an empty unit for two months. Writing that split down costs nothing and prevents most of it.
And a commercial tenant should always use their own attorney. Florida gives commercial tenants far fewer protections than residential ones, the lease is a negotiated contract, and the landlord's draft is written for the landlord. Saying so is not against our interest — a tenant who understood what they signed is a tenant who stays.
Our principles
Three beliefs behind the method
Write the fit-out split
It decides the opening date.
Use your own attorney
Commercial leases are negotiated.
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