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Balance your need to maintain order with the rights of political groups.

This November’s presidential election may be the most volatile in recent memory. In the months ahead, political groups and protestors may demand access to the common areas of your shopping center for demonstrations, speeches, petitioning, and other public activities (which, for simplicity’s sake, we’ll refer to collectively as “speech activities”).

Include 10 terms in your termination option clause.

Extraordinary individuals are the driving force behind many startups and small businesses. But leasing to tenants that depend so heavily on such individuals is risky. The business could suddenly come to a screeching halt should something happen to one of its “key players.”

But set clear limits.

Prospective tenants who aren’t fully financed might be reluctant to sign a lease unless and until they know they’ll be able to secure an operating loan. If they can’t get the loan they need, they’ll want the right to terminate the lease. Of course, this leaves the landlord exposed to the risk of losing the transaction after a lease has been fully signed should the tenant exercise the early termination right.

Letting tenants post their own pylon signs may put your center’s liability and reputation at risk.

We’ll give you seven key terms to put into your relocation clause.

Don’t wait for a project to begin to address the issue. Put key redevelopment rights in the lease.

Landlords who rely on tenants' inflated sales projections are apt to get burned.

Renting to a food truck is generally riskier than renting to an established business.

Don’t get burned if the tenant doesn’t complete the improvements work.

Holdovers can be a nightmare for landlords. When tenants don’t clear out after their lease expires, you may have to go to court to evict them. Meanwhile, the replacement tenant can’t move into the space and could end up suing you. Or, if you haven’t yet re-rented the space, the presence of the holdover tenant may hinder your efforts to find a new tenant. Adding insult to injury, if the rental market is hot, the holdover tenant may end up paying you much less rent than the space would otherwise command.