Your lease is up for renewal

The problem

Renewals look simple, which is exactly why they go wrong. Many leases say you must give written notice by a set date, often six to twelve months before the end.

If that date quietly passes, the option can be gone, and you’re negotiating with nothing to bargain with, or sliding into month-to-month holdover rent that can be much higher than what you pay now. Some leases also roll over automatically on terms you’d never pick today.

What I do about it

I find your deadline first and put it in my calendar. Then I read how the renewal rent gets set, check what similar spaces actually rent for, and line up two or three real alternatives so your landlord knows you have choices. You get a one-page summary and a clear plan before anything is signed.

What your landlord wants

A good tenant who stays. Every move-out costs a landlord months of empty space, a leasing fee, and often new improvements for the next tenant. Most would rather keep you at a fair rent than gamble on someone new.

They also care about the face rent on paper, because it sets the value of their building.

Where everybody wins

You get a fair rent, some free rent or an allowance, and the options you need for the next term. The landlord gets a reliable tenant and a rent they can live with. Nobody wins by losing a good tenant over a few dollars a foot, and that’s usually where the deal lands.

Why renewals go sideways

Most tenants renew the way most people renew their car insurance: an email arrives, the number looks a little higher, they sign. The trouble is a commercial renewal locks in rent for years, and your landlord knows moving is a pain for you. That knowledge is worth money to them.

The other common problem is the deadline. Many leases make you exercise your renewal option in writing a set number of months before the lease ends, often six to twelve. Miss it and the option can be gone, and then you’re negotiating from a much weaker spot.

What I do on a renewal

1. Read your renewal clause: the notice deadline, how the new rent is set (“fair market”, a fixed bump, or “to be agreed”), and what else changes.
2. Pull what similar spaces nearby are actually renting for, net and gross, and compare them like with like, including load factor and additional rent.
3. Work out your real cost today and under the landlord’s offer, including free rent and allowances, using net effective rent.
4. Look at what’s on your side: vacancy in your building or area, how long your space would sit empty, and what it would cost the landlord to replace you.
5. Give you a one-page summary with your deadline, two or three asks, and whether moving is worth pricing out.
6. If you want me to negotiate, we sign a tenant agreement first, then I deal with the landlord or their agent for you.

It helps to have somewhere else to go

A landlord negotiates differently when they know you could leave. That doesn’t mean bluffing. It means actually touring two or three alternatives and getting real proposals, so the renewal is measured against something.

Even if you stay, which is often the right call, you stay on better terms.

Free lease renewal check. If your lease ends in the next 6 to 18 months, I can read your renewal terms, compare your rent against the market and tell you where you stand. No cost and no obligation. Before we start, BC rules have me give you a short disclosure form that explains who I represent.

When to start

Earlier than feels necessary. For most small and mid-size spaces I’d start 12 to 18 months before your lease ends, and earlier if you’d need to build out a new space. There’s more on this in timing your lease.

Questions people ask

How early should I start a lease renewal?

For most small and mid-size spaces, 12 to 18 months before the lease ends. Check your lease for the renewal notice deadline first, because that date can come much earlier than the end of the lease.

My landlord is nice. Do I still need representation?

A good relationship is worth keeping, and a fair renewal keeps it. The check simply tells you whether the number on the table matches the market before you sign for another term.

Who pays you on a renewal?

It depends on the deal. Often the landlord pays the leasing fee. If they won’t, we agree up front who pays and how much, in writing, through Coldwell Banker Prestige Realty, before I do any paid work.

The free renewal check costs you nothing either way.

What does “fair market rent” in my renewal clause mean?

It usually means rent for comparable space at renewal time, sometimes with a process like arbitration if you can’t agree. The details matter, so have your lawyer read the clause, and I can bring the market evidence.