For any owner of a property, renting a commercial lease is one of the accessible options to earn income from it. This is one of the forms of exploitation that allows you to make a regular profit from your real estate investment.
While it generally works like most other forms of leasing, commercial leasing has specificities that make it unique and allow it to be differentiated. These relate both to the parties involved and to the rules that apply to this form of leasing.
The content of the rental agreement must also address certain specific aspects, the details and terms of which must be specified in advance to rent a commercial lease.
The commercial lease: The specificities
The specificities that serve to distinguish commercial leasing concern, on the one hand, the people who can conclude it and, on the other hand, the rules that govern this type of lease. These specificities are part of the elements to know for the owner who wishes to rent a commercial lease. You can invest through a real estate crowdfunding platform.
The parties to the lease
Commercial leases, like any other lease agreement, are generally between a lessor and a tenant. Renting a commercial lease falls under the jurisdiction of a lessor who can be:
– A company ; – An association ; – A craftsman ; – A person exercising a liberal profession and considered as a merchant; – A particular.
The status of the lessor is therefore not a very distinctive element of the commercial lease. This lessor may however dedicate his property exclusively to a commercial activity. By doing this, he only offers it to a commercial, industrial or artisan tenant, registered and who uses it as part of his activity.
The commercial lease, if it is applicable to a wide range of activities, differs from the professional lease which is exclusively reserved for tenants exercising a liberal profession. In addition to this distinctive point, the rules relating to the duration and conditions of termination are also different.
Applicable rules
After having successfully invested in commercial premises, renting a commercial lease requires knowing the following rules which govern its operation:
– The amount of the rent, freely fixed at the conclusion of the rental contract, can be reviewed every three years; – In addition to the rent, when signing the lease, the landlord can ask the tenant for a door step, that is to say an additional amount in lieu of a guarantee. The door step can take the form of an indemnity or a supplement on the rent;- At the end of the term of the contract, the tenant has a right to renew the lease. When the owner does not wish to renew the contract, the tenant is then entitled to claim compensation for eviction; – It is the lessor's responsibility to take charge of the work required to bring the commercial premises into line with the professional standards that apply to the lessee's activity.
The content of the rental contract
We are talking here about provisions that must be included in the rental agreement. They must be provided by the lessor who wishes to rent a commercial lease.
The purpose and duration of the lease
With regard to the subject of the lease, it must be indicated in the contract. It is the owner's responsibility to ensure the adequacy of the premises with the activity planned by the tenant. The use of a professional is recommended in this regard to determine which activities are best suited to a room.
In terms of duration, commercial leases are concluded for at least 9 years, so as to give the tenant time to establish and develop his activity. During these 9 years, the tenant can decide to leave the premises every 3 years, i.e. after 3, 6 and 9 years.
State of play
The Pinel law has made the inventory of fixtures obligatory at the conclusion of the lease, at the exit of the tenant as well as in the event of assignment of the lease by the tenant or transfer of the business. This makes it possible to precisely determine the state of the commercial premises.
Subletting
Subletting is normally prohibited. It consists for the main tenant, signatory of the main lease, in granting total or partial access to the premises to a third party, against remuneration.
If this practice is prohibited by default, a lessor who decides to rent a commercial lease has the option of authorizing it. He must then take part in the signing of the sublease contract.
Termination
Various cases of termination of the commercial lease are admissible. The most important concern:
– The amicable termination agreed between the lessor and the tenant; – The option of termination open to the tenant every 3 years; – The option of termination open to the lessor when the tenant fails to comply with one of the termination clauses provided for in the contract; – Judicial termination is requested by one of the parties to the contract when the other party breaches its obligations.
Knowledge of these rules is useful for the lessor who wishes to rent a commercial lease while controlling all the contours of his relationship with his tenant. Click here to learn more about how to invest in real estate in 2021.
