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Q: Suppose an owner leases retail space to a prominent national chain for which it builds out space, but needs to get the chain’s written consent each time it makes changes to the construction plans. If the chain is slow responding, it may force the owner to work around the clock at substantial cost in order to complete the space by the set deadline. Is there anything the owner can do?

Between now and 2018, trillions of dollars in loans used to finance commercial real estate properties will mature and have to be refinanced. The big refinancing wave has already started to form. Sixty-four percent more commercial mortgages were originated in 2011, with a big increase expected for 2012 (the MBA origination index was up 25 percent in second-quarter 2012), according to consulting firm Deloitte Touche.

Q:An owner’s standard lease requires its tenants to pay percentage rent on gross sales. But some of the tenants, primarily restaurants, haven’t been paying percentage rent for some deliveries, take-out, and other off-site sales they make. What can the owner do to require that percentage rent be included for these sales as well?

Q: The guarantor of a lease I signed with a new tenant is very old, so the lease includes language requiring the tenant to notify me of any change in the status of the guaranty, including the guarantor’s death. If the tenant violates the lease either just before or soon after the guarantor’s death, can I still pursue my rights under the guaranty?

Although a development project may go as planned, it’s not unusual for problems to arise so that the project has to be redesigned. With every redesign comes an upset tenant that may feel like you’re pushing the envelope by including or doing away with aspects of the center that attracted it in the first place. You might be able to get away with small changes without ruffling any tenant feathers. But how far can you go before prompting a lawsuit?

Some office building owners are taking advantage of a growing phenomenon: tenants that specialize in using the space they rent to set up move-in ready, executive office suites for companies that want the benefit of professional office space, without restrictive, long-term leases. Upscale building owners are benefiting from the business model, which uses shared office space solutions that feature common areas like client lounges and open spaces for socializing and networking, as well as closed offices and conference rooms for uninterrupted privacy.

It’s easier and cheaper to retain existing tenants than to seek out new ones, especially in a weak economy. But what can you do if a good tenant fails to exercise its renewal option by the lease deadline?

            There are several reasons why the tenant may not have exercised its renewal option by the lease deadline—for example, it may be planning to renew, but may have simply forgotten to send its renewal notice.

Q: Today, many owners are using “alternative dispute resolution” (ADR) methods—mediation and arbitration—to resolve their differences with tenants out of court. How do mediation and arbitration differ?

It’s important to make sure that your tenant’s lease gives you the right to erect scaffolding. That’s because there may be a point in time when you need to repair, clean, or renovate the façade of the building, or because of local laws or regulations, and you may need to erect scaffolding on the building so workers can do the repair or renovation work. But tenants—especially retail tenants—typically don’t like scaffolding because it can block their stores’ visibility, thus harming their businesses.