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Got burned on a triple net lease when the roof caved in 6 months after signing
I leased a 2,500 sq ft retail space in a strip mall outside Phoenix back in March. Everything looked fine during walkthroughs, but after a monsoon storm in August, the roof started leaking like crazy. The landlord kept saying it was my responsibility since the lease said 'maintenance costs' fall on me. I ended up paying $3,200 for a temporary patch and then took the lease to a lawyer to fight it. Anyone else run into surprise repair costs that the NNN terms didn't cover?
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ray6485d ago
Did the lawyer find anything in the lease about structural stuff specifically (like the roof being the landlord's problem anyway)? I'm always curious how those NNN clauses are actually worded when you dig into them.
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colemiller5d ago
Depends on how the lease defines "structural" too. Some of those NNN leases will say roof is landlord's problem but then have a separate line about "roof membrane replacement" being tenant responsibility if it's from normal wear and tear. Had a buddy who got stuck with a six figure bill because his lease had a clause about "deferred maintenance costs" that basically made him on the hook for anything the previous tenant neglected. Worth checking if there's any language about "capital improvements" vs "repairs" because that's where landlords like to blur the lines.
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