Protecting Your Lease:How to Pinpoint Troublesome Assignment Clauses
Abstract
You are negotiating with the landlord of a modern highrise to lease the premises for a new restaurant. The landlord has a reputation for being fastidious about his building, but not particularly attentive to his tenants' problems. You prudently pay particular attention to the assignment, subletting, and mortgaging clauses of the lease, because you know that if safeguards are not written into the lease now, the landlord can thwart your attempts to make improvements to the premises or even to sell your restaurant. As a result of your negotiations, the landlord agrees in the lease that he will not unreasonably withhold consent should you wish to assign the lease, but you are still troubled. What are your rights if the landlord withholds his consent in the future? What can you do if your landlord is unreasonable?