Negotiate a commercial lease before you sign
A lease signed on terms you chose — the rent and operating-expense structure modelled to a real annual cost, NNN and CAM charges capped and audit rights secured, a tenant improvement allowance negotiated, the personal guarantee limited or burned off over time, and use, exclusivity, assignment and exit clauses settled.
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Included with every copy
- Your own copy — keep it forever
- Gets better over time — free updates included
- Run it on web and mobile
- Invite a partner to go through it with you — you share the same progress
- 2 knowledge checks to test what you've learned
- The playbook's community — ask questions, get additions, and see how other buyers improve it, right on the step
Who it's for
U.S. small-business owners (retail, restaurant, office, or studio) signing their first or second commercial lease — before they have signed a letter of intent or accepted a lease draft from the landlord. Also useful for any tenant who wants to negotiate without paying a broker or attorney to do the heavy lifting.
About this playbook
This guide walks you through every number and clause in a commercial lease before you sign it — from the first rent quote to the final signature. You will decode the landlord’s proposal, model the true annual occupancy cost (not just the quoted rate), negotiate rent escalations, CAM caps, tenant improvement allowances, and personal-guarantee protections, then document the agreed terms for attorney review. It covers NNN, modified-gross, and full-service gross leases for retail, restaurant, office, and studio spaces. It does not cover construction management, financing, or post-signature dispute resolution.
What you'll do, step by step
Free preview — these steps are open to read in full before you buy.
Phase 1: Decode the landlord’s proposal
0/4Collect every document the landlord or broker has offered and identify each cost component you will be asked to pay. This phase produces the raw data and market context every later step depends on.
- 0/430 min
- 1 hour
- 30 min
Phase 2: Model the true annual occupancy cost
4 stepsPhase 3: Negotiate the economic terms
4 stepsPhase 4: Negotiate the liability and control terms
5 stepsPhase 5: Document, review, and execute the lease
3 stepsDetails
What you need first
A specific space identified and a landlord or broker who has provided at least a rent quote or a lease draft. Basic comfort with spreadsheets (addition, multiplication, division, percentages). No signed lease for this space.
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About the creator
I cover running and growing a business. My playbooks say plainly what to do first and where the time goes.
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