Lease Attorney — Commercial & Residential, Glendale & LA
A lease allocates risk for years. The clauses that matter are rarely the ones negotiated hardest at signing — they are the operating covenants, the CAM definitions, the default cure periods, and the assignment provisions nobody reads until something goes wrong.
When should you have a lawyer review a commercial lease in Los Angeles?
Before signing. A commercial lease in California is largely a matter of contract, and courts enforce the terms as written between sophisticated parties. Review is most valuable at the letter-of-intent stage, when rent escalation, CAM and operating expense definitions, assignment and subletting rights, exclusive use, personal guaranties, and default cure periods can still be negotiated rather than merely interpreted.
Lease Negotiation and Lease Disputes in Los Angeles County
Commercial leasing in Glendale and Los Angeles is unforgiving because California gives commercial tenants very little statutory protection. Whatever the lease says about operating expenses, percentage rent, relocation rights, or a personal guaranty is likely what governs. The negotiating leverage exists once — before signing — and the review that matters most costs a fraction of the dispute it prevents.
Residential leasing is the opposite: heavily regulated, and increasingly local. The City of Los Angeles administers a long-standing Rent Stabilization Ordinance covering many older units, statewide limits on rent increases and just-cause termination apply to much of the remaining housing stock, and cities including Glendale have adopted their own tenant protections. Whether a specific unit is covered — and by which rule — is a threshold question that changes the entire analysis.
Disputes we handle run from unpaid rent and CAM reconciliations through habitability claims, constructive eviction, holdover and lockout issues, and force majeure and casualty arguments of the kind examined in SVAP III Fitness International. Where the relationship or the tenancy is worth preserving, mediation often resolves the money faster than an unlawful detainer calendar.
330 North Brand Boulevard, Suite 1280
Glendale, California 91203
Los Angeles County Superior Court, including the Glendale and Stanley Mosk courthouses.
Property disputes, purchase and sale litigation, leases, disclosure claims, and land use across Los Angeles County.
Lease Matters We Handle
For landlords, tenants, property managers, and investors across Los Angeles and Glendale.
Commercial Lease Negotiation
Letters of intent, retail, office, and industrial leases, work letters and tenant improvement allowances, exclusive use and co-tenancy clauses, and personal guaranty terms.
CAM & Operating Expense Disputes
Audits and challenges to common area maintenance reconciliations, capital expenditure pass-throughs, administrative fees, and gross-up provisions.
Default & Cure Disputes
Notices to pay or quit, cure and grace periods, waiver by acceptance of rent, lease termination rights, and the recovery of rent and damages after abandonment.
Habitability & Repair Claims
Residential habitability standards, repair-and-deduct disputes, and claims involving water intrusion and mold in rental property.
Rent Stabilization Questions
Whether a unit is covered by a local ordinance or statewide rules, allowable increases, just-cause requirements, and relocation obligations.
Assignment, Subletting & Guaranties
Consent standards, recapture rights, enforcement of and defenses to personal guaranties, and lease assumption in a business sale.
Lease Disputes That Reach Our Office
Composite examples drawn from the kinds of matters this practice handles. They illustrate common fact patterns and are not descriptions of specific client cases or predictions of any result.
The CAM Reconciliation
A Glendale retail tenant receives a year-end reconciliation nearly doubling its expected operating expenses, including a roof replacement passed through in full. Whether that charge is permitted turns on the operating expense definition, the capital expenditure exclusion, and the audit rights in the lease.
The Personal Guaranty
A restaurant closes and the entity tenant is judgment-proof. The landlord pursues the founder on a personal guaranty signed five years earlier. The exposure depends on whether the guaranty was limited in time or amount, and whether lease amendments discharged it.
The Covered Unit
A small landlord serves a notice to raise rent substantially, then learns the building may be subject to rent stabilization. Coverage, allowable increase, and notice requirements determine whether the increase is valid or exposes the landlord to liability.
When to Involve a Lease Attorney
- You have been presented with a lease, LOI, or renewal and have not yet signed.
- A reconciliation, escalation, or pass-through charge does not match your understanding.
- You received or intend to serve a notice to pay rent or quit, or a notice to cure.
- A tenant has abandoned the premises or a landlord has locked out a tenant.
- You are being asked to sign — or are enforcing — a personal guaranty.
- You are unsure whether a residential unit is subject to rent stabilization or just-cause rules.
What to Do First
Assemble the whole document
The lease, every amendment, the guaranty, the estoppel certificates, and the correspondence. Lease disputes are decided on the complete document set, and partial records produce wrong answers.
Calendar the cure period
Notice and cure deadlines in California leases are short and strictly enforced. Missing one can forfeit a tenancy or waive a landlord's remedy entirely.
Preserve the payment record
Accepting rent after a default can waive it; paying under protest can preserve a challenge. How money moves during a dispute frequently determines the outcome.
Leases — Questions California Clients Ask
What landlords and tenants in Glendale and Los Angeles ask about lease terms, defaults, and rent regulation.
What are the most common commercial lease disputes in California?
Common commercial lease disputes include disagreements over rent payments, operating expense calculations, permitted use provisions, assignment and subletting rights, lease renewal options, landlord's duty to maintain the premises, and tenant improvement obligations.
What is a CAM charge and can it be disputed?
Common Area Maintenance (CAM) charges are fees passed from a commercial landlord to tenants for maintaining shared areas like lobbies, parking lots, and landscaping. Disputes often arise over what expenses are included, how they are allocated, and whether the landlord is overcharging. Tenants typically have audit rights under their leases.
Can a commercial tenant break a lease in California?
Breaking a commercial lease generally exposes the tenant to damages equal to the remaining rent obligations, though landlords in California have a duty to mitigate damages by attempting to re-lease the space. Tenants may also have grounds to exit a lease if the landlord has breached a material lease obligation.
What happens if a landlord fails to maintain a commercial property?
If a landlord's failure to maintain the property constitutes a breach of the lease, the tenant may be entitled to seek damages, rent abatement, or in severe cases, treat the lease as constructively terminated. The appropriate remedy depends on the lease terms and the nature of the maintenance failure.
How is residential tenancy law different from commercial tenancy law in California?
Residential leases are heavily regulated in California, with strong tenant protections including rent control in many cities, just-cause eviction requirements, and habitability warranties. Commercial leases are generally governed by the specific lease terms and the California Civil Code, with far fewer mandatory protections.
What is a lease assignment and does it require landlord approval?
A lease assignment transfers all of a tenant's rights and obligations under a lease to a new tenant. Most commercial leases require landlord consent for an assignment, though California law limits a landlord's ability to unreasonably withhold consent in certain circumstances.
What is a holdover tenancy?
A holdover tenancy occurs when a tenant remains in possession of the property after the lease expires without signing a new lease. California law typically converts a holdover into a month-to-month tenancy at the same rent, though commercial leases often specify harsher holdover rent penalties.
When should I consult an attorney about a lease dispute?
You should consult an attorney as soon as a lease dispute arises — before sending demand letters, before withholding rent, and before vacating the premises. Taking those steps without legal advice can inadvertently waive important rights or expose you to additional liability.
How do I know whether rent control applies to my California unit?
Coverage is determined building by building. A unit may be subject to a local rent stabilization ordinance, to California's statewide limits on rent increases and just-cause termination, or to neither, depending on the building's age, type, and ownership. Because coverage controls the allowable increase, the notice required, and any relocation obligation, it should be confirmed against the city's current rules before any notice is served.
Local Representation
Rent regulation and eviction procedure differ by city. These pages set out how leases are handled where the building is located.
Talk to a Real Estate Attorney
Send the lease before you sign it, or the notice before you respond to it. Both are cheaper to address in advance than to litigate afterward.