Sample output: Commercial Lease Review

The fictional scenario

Sample Request — Commercial Lease Review

*Fictional sample request to the Commercial Lease Review skill (skills/real-estate/commercial-lease-review/SKILL.md). Every party, property, figure, and excerpt below is invented for illustration.*

The request

We are the tenant. Please review this commercial lease from our perspective and flag the issues we should push back on before we sign. We have not engaged outside counsel yet and want a structured starting point.

Inputs supplied

• Party perspective: Tenant — *Northwind Analytics LLC*, a software company taking its first dedicated office.
• Landlord: *Cedar Ridge Property Partners LP.*
• Premises / property type: Suite 410, a roughly 9,200 sq. ft. office suite in a five-story suburban office building ("the Building").
• Transaction posture: A new lease being negotiated; a seven-year term proposed; we have not yet countered.
• Jurisdiction / governing law: The lease names a U.S. state but we do not want to assume which controls — treat governing law as stated in the document and flag it.
• Document set: The base lease and Exhibit C (Operating Expense provisions). Exhibit B (Work Letter) is referenced but was not provided.

Fictional lease excerpts the review should draw on

• § 3.1 Base Rent (p. 4): "Base Rent shall be $28.00 per rentable square foot per annum for Lease Year 1, increasing by four percent (4%) on each anniversary of the Commencement Date."
• § 4.2 Operating Expenses (p. 7; Exhibit C, p. 2): "Tenant shall pay Tenant's Proportionate Share of all Operating Expenses. There is no base year and no expense stop. Operating Expenses include capital expenditures and Landlord's management fee." No audit right is stated.
• § 6.3 Permitted Use (p. 11): "The Premises shall be used solely for general office purposes and no other use whatsoever."
• § 9.1 Assignment and Subletting (p. 16): "Tenant shall not assign or sublet without Landlord's prior written consent, which Landlord may grant or withhold in its sole and absolute discretion."
• § 12.4 Maintenance (p. 21): "Tenant shall maintain and replace the HVAC system serving the Premises at Tenant's sole cost."
• § 15.2 Default (p. 27): "A monetary default occurs if any sum is not paid when due. Tenant shall have three (3) days after written notice to cure a monetary default."
• § 19.1 Renewal Option (p. 33): "Tenant may renew for one (1) additional five-year term by delivering written notice not less than twelve (12) months before expiration, at the then-prevailing market rent."
• § 23.0 Governing Law (p. 39): "This Lease shall be governed by the laws of the State of [State name partly illegible in the provided copy]."
• *Casualty and condemnation: no provision was located in the copy provided.*

What the skill produced

Illustrative example — not legal advice. This is a sample of what the Commercial Lease Review skill (skills/real-estate/commercial-lease-review/SKILL.md) produces, run against the fictional request in sample-request.md. Every party, property, document, date, and figure is fictional and was invented for illustration; there are no real addresses and no real or invented legal citations. It is the kind of draft work product a supervising attorney would review — not a finished deliverable, and not legal advice. See examples/README.md.

Commercial Lease Review — Draft for Attorney Review

1. Review Header

• Lease title: Office Lease Agreement (the "Lease").
• Parties: Cedar Ridge Property Partners LP ("Landlord"); Northwind Analytics LLC ("Tenant").
• Premises: Suite 410, an approx. 9,200 rentable sq. ft. office suite in a five-story suburban office building (the "Building").
• Property type: Office.
• Transaction posture: New lease under negotiation; proposed seven-year term; Tenant has not yet countered.
• Party perspective: Tenant.
• Governing law: [CONFIRM: governing law] — § 23.0 (p. 39) names a state but the state name is partly illegible in the copy provided. [verify jurisdiction].
• Commencement / term dates: [CONFIRM: dates] — not located in the excerpts provided. [deadline verification required].
• Documents covered: Base Lease; Exhibit C (Operating Expense provisions).
• Referenced but not provided: Exhibit B (Work Letter).

2. Document Set

No amendments or side letters were identified in the materials provided. If any exist, a lease-amendment-reconciliation is needed before the controlling terms can be confirmed.

3. Clause-by-Clause Issue List (Tenant perspective)

• Rent and economic terms. Base Rent is $28.00/RSF/annum in Year 1 with a fixed 4% annual escalation (§ 3.1, p. 4). The 4% compounding escalator is above a flat or CPI-linked structure and increases Tenant's long-term cost. Operating Expenses pass through with no base year and no expense stop, and expressly include capital expenditures and Landlord's management fee (§ 4.2, p. 7; Exhibit C, p. 2). No audit right is stated. *Risk to Tenant:* uncapped, unverifiable expense exposure. *Direction:* toward a CPI cap or lower fixed escalator; a base year or expense stop; a cap on controllable expenses; exclusion or amortization of capital items; and an audit right.
• Use. Permitted use is "general office purposes and no other use whatsoever" (§ 6.3, p. 11). *Risk to Tenant:* a narrow clause may constrain future business changes and assignment marketability. *Direction:* toward broader "general office and any related lawful use" language.
• Exclusivity. Not addressed in the excerpts provided — typical for office space; absence is not itself a Tenant risk here.
• Co-tenancy. Not addressed — typical for office; not a material Tenant risk.
• Go-dark. Not addressed — office leases generally omit this; not a material Tenant risk.
• Assignment and subletting. Consent required, and Landlord may withhold it in its "sole and absolute discretion" (§ 9.1, p. 16). *Risk to Tenant:* limits exit flexibility, M&A activity, and the ability to sublet excess space. *Direction:* toward a "not unreasonably withheld" standard, permitted transfers to affiliates and in connection with a merger/sale, and removal of any recapture right [CONFIRM: recapture not located].
• Maintenance and repair. Tenant must maintain and replace the HVAC system at its sole cost (§ 12.4, p. 21). *Risk to Tenant:* full capital replacement exposure for a major building system. *Direction:* toward Landlord-borne replacement, or a cap with amortization of any replacement over its useful life.
• Casualty and condemnation. Ambiguous / Not found — no provision was located in the copy provided. This is a material gap: a lease normally addresses rent abatement and termination after a fire or taking. [CONFIRM: locate casualty and condemnation provisions].
• Default and remedies. A monetary default arises if any sum is unpaid when due, with a three-day cure period after written notice (§ 15.2, p. 27). *Risk to Tenant:* a short cure window raises the chance of a technical default. *Direction:* toward a longer cure period (commonly five to ten days) and a notice requirement before the cure clock starts. [deadline verification required].
• Indemnity. [CONFIRM: indemnity provisions not in excerpts] — not located; should be reviewed for scope and carve-outs for Landlord negligence.
• Insurance. [CONFIRM: insurance provisions not in excerpts] — not located; review required coverages, limits, waiver of subrogation, and additional-insured requirements.
• Environmental. [CONFIRM: environmental provisions not in excerpts] — not located; review hazardous-materials allocation and indemnity.
• Compliance. [CONFIRM: compliance / ADA provisions not in excerpts] — not located; review who bears compliance and ADA costs, including changes in law. [verify jurisdiction] for any jurisdiction-specific compliance question.
• Options. One five-year renewal at "then-prevailing market rent" on notice "not less than twelve (12) months before expiration" (§ 19.1, p. 33). *Risk to Tenant:* an undefined market-rent mechanism and a hard notice deadline. *Direction:* toward a defined market-rent process (e.g., appraisal or arbitration baseline) and a notice cure or reminder mechanism. [deadline verification required].

4. Risk Matrix

5. Date-Driven Obligations

No date above was computed by the reviewer; each is recorded as stated.

6. Prioritized Issue List

High priority

1. Uncapped operating expenses with no base year. OpEx passes through in full, includes capital expenditures and the management fee, and carries no audit right (§ 4.2, p. 7; Exhibit C, p. 2). *Why it matters:* open- ended, unverifiable cost growth over a seven-year term. *Suggested Direction:* introduce a base year or expense stop, cap controllable expenses, exclude or amortize capital items, and add an audit right.
2. Sole-discretion assignment consent. § 9.1 (p. 16) lets Landlord withhold consent for any reason. *Why it matters:* blocks subletting excess space and complicates a future sale or merger of Tenant. *Suggested Direction:* move to a reasonableness standard and add permitted affiliate/M&A transfers.
3. Tenant-borne HVAC replacement. § 12.4 (p. 21) puts capital replacement of a major system on Tenant. *Why it matters:* a single replacement can be a large unbudgeted cost. *Suggested Direction:* shift replacement to Landlord or cap and amortize Tenant's share.
4. Missing casualty and condemnation terms. No provision located. *Why it matters:* without abatement and termination rights, Tenant may keep paying rent on unusable space. *Suggested Direction:* locate the provisions; if genuinely absent, negotiate abatement and termination rights.

Medium priority

1. Three-day monetary cure period. § 15.2 (p. 27). *Why it matters:* an administrative slip can mature into a default. *Suggested Direction:* lengthen the cure period and confirm notice must precede the clock.
2. Renewal at undefined "market rent." § 19.1 (p. 33). *Why it matters:* an undefined mechanism gives Landlord pricing leverage. *Suggested Direction:* define an objective rent-setting process.
3. Narrow permitted use. § 6.3 (p. 11). *Why it matters:* limits business changes and assignability. *Suggested Direction:* broaden the use clause.

Low priority

1. Compounding 4% escalator (§ 3.1, p. 4) — economic, not legal; raise as a business point.

7. Open Items for Attorney Verification

• [ ] [CONFIRM: governing law] — confirm the state named in § 23.0 (p. 39); the name is partly illegible. [verify jurisdiction].
• [ ] [CONFIRM: dates] — Commencement Date and term dates not located.
• [ ] [ATTORNEY TO CONFIRM: casualty and condemnation] — locate the provisions or confirm they are genuinely absent.
• [ ] [CONFIRM] — obtain and review indemnity, insurance, environmental, and compliance/ADA provisions, none of which appeared in the excerpts.
• [ ] [CONFIRM: recapture] — confirm whether § 9.1 or a related clause grants Landlord a recapture right on assignment.
• [ ] Obtain Exhibit B (Work Letter) — referenced but not provided; it governs tenant improvements and allowances.
• [ ] Confirm no amendments or side letters exist; if any do, run lease-amendment-reconciliation before relying on this review.
• [ ] Have a qualified attorney assess jurisdiction-specific questions on operating-expense pass-throughs, cure periods, and ADA allocation.
• [ ] Verify every date-driven obligation independently; no date here was computed.

8. Assumptions

• Assumed the materials provided (base Lease + Exhibit C) are the current negotiating draft and not a prior version. [CONFIRM].
• Assumed Tenant is a single office occupant with no special signage, parking, or expansion needs beyond the suite described. [CONFIRM].
• Assumed "Tenant's Proportionate Share" is defined elsewhere in the Lease; the definition was not in the excerpts. [CONFIRM].
• Assumed exclusivity, co-tenancy, and go-dark are genuinely absent rather than located in unreviewed pages — typical for office leases, but to be confirmed against the full document.

*This is draft work product for attorney review only. It is issue-spotting, not legal advice, and it makes no recommendation on whether to sign. A qualified, licensed attorney must review it, resolve every placeholder, and confirm all jurisdiction-specific questions before this Lease is negotiated or signed.*