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I am considering leasing commercial property as a tenant to conduct my business (medical services) in the DFW area. As I reviewed the Lease, one provision caught my eye:

“Tenant will not permit any Tenant Party to bring onto the Project any handgun, firearm or other weapons of any kind, illegal drugs or, unless expressly permitted by Landlord in writing”

Elsewhere in the Lease a “Tenant Party” is defined as: “Tenant; any assignees claiming by, through, or under Tenant; any subtenants claiming by, through, or under Tenant; and any of their respective agents, contractors, employees, licensees, guests and invitees”

Also elsewhere in the Lease the “Project” is defined as the entire building that the Premises is located in. The building has residential apartments on the upper floors and commercial spaces on the ground floor.

So, beside myself not being able to carry, “weapons of any kind,” neither could my employees, or even customer! Even if I wanted to, I obviously couldn’t enforce it without searching everyone entering the premises.

I will strike out the provision—but if the LL insisted on this provision I’m NOT sure what to do. I would prefer not to walk away from what otherwise is a good deal.

I can chose to sign the Lease and just ignore the provision, but if there was ever a case where, e.g., I or an employee used a handgun in self-defense, then I would be in breach of the Lease and the LL could find me in default.

I would be interesting on hear any comments on whether or not provisions like this are common in commercial leases, and, are they even legally enforceable.

This is not an answer to your question, but I am irate that the LL would require this of a tenant. They are certainly out of their mind, and I bet they are also out of state. Have you asked them why that provision is in the lease?

As for me, I would never sign that...strike it out.

Besides, this is still a real estate buyer's market...you have the edge.

"I bet they are also out of state"

I'm sorry to say, but you would lose that bet, the LL is a subsidiary of a major real estate developer based in Dallas.

One other thing I forgot to mention. I interviewed a few other existing tenants, and it became apparent to me they hadn’t substantially read the Lease (at best, they just hired a lawyer to read it)—this thing is buried as one of several line items in one of several Appendices of the Lease.

It does makes me wonder how wide-spread this is in other Lease agreements. Have you read yours??

Make them aware that you cannot do that without physically searching every person.

Also, aren't police 'guests or invitees' if you call them? Are they saying that police aren't allowed to carry there as well?

Just point out the absurdities of it, and how it is unenforceable, especially in a shall-issue state, and hold your ground.

Is that even legal?

In years past I was a commercial real estate broker in Ft.Worth. I saw exactly one lease of a commercial property(office/ warehouse) that contained a 'no guns' clause. I never showed that property to prospective clients, but steered them onto other properties that did not have that clause in the lease.

As the lease is a legally binding contract between you and the lessor, you are bound by all of the terms of that contract. If you choose to sign the lease, did not strike out the clause(and have both parties initial the strike out), and IF the lessor later discovers you or your customers have guns on premises, then you are in default of the lease, and he can not only evict you, but sue for the unpaid balance on the remaining term of the lease.

IMO, it would benefit you to contact a commercial real estate broker and work with them on finding a suitable property for you. What ever kind of property you are looking for be it retail, office/warehouse or office space, I'm convinced there are more suitable opportunities out there for you. It'll save you time and probably money in the long run. Plus, FYI, 99% of all commissions the real estate agent receives are paid by the lessor. And no, the lease rates are not jacked up to cover the commission. At least not in my experience.

I AM NOT A LAWYER

Joe gives great advice above. I do not currently deal in commercial leases, but was a commercial property manager for a time (not in a leasing capacity, but I did have to read/understand lease terms and other service contract terms etc.). Anyway, he is right that if you sign it, you abide by it or they can and will hold you in default and it will all probably wind up in court.

Attempting to strike out the clause is a good first step and you should definitely try that (might get lucky), just be sure to bring it to their attention before all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed. But my instinct tells me the other side will not agree to strike out the language easily. They'll hide behind "it's a boilerplate; our attorneys worked up this language; we (leasing reps) are not allowed to change such things." So you're probably stuck with either:

1) hiring a lawyer to hash this out for you ... a good real estate attorney will have an easier time convincing the other side the clause is a) stupid, b) unenforceable/not possible, c) unnecessary and d) illegal, than you will by yourself.

2) look for other property

I have a hunch that this clause is unenforceable, but you have to decide if you're willing to run that risk. Even if you're "right", if something like you describe were to happen (someone defends self with gun, LL finds out) you will likely have to prove you're right in court.

Let us know how this plays out, I'd love to know more.

I AM NOT A LAWYER

Commercial real estate leases,negotiation, and all things associated with this are what I do for a living.

Leases, in general, are basically agreements governing legal responsibilities: rent fees, insurance, indemnification, and casualty the big 4 in a typical lease.

I'd approach this very simply: the landlord wants a no firearms clause? It's a trade off. You say "sure, I'm ok with this. We' modify in the indemnification clause whereby the landlord exempts self-indemnification for safety issues, and accepts responsibility for the the safety and well being of the lessee and its' employees, customers, and vendors at all times". No LL in his/her right mind would EVER execute that agreement, thus bolstering your point in the negotiation.

I'm not saying you get around this hurdle, but again, no landlord in his right mind would sign this....thus making your point for you.

At the end of the day, walk away. And, tell them WHY.

Peace.

chuckybrown wrote:
At the end of the day, walk away. And, tell them WHY.

Peace.

The whole thing really makes me mad. They MUST know why you're walking on the deal...unless they agree to striking it out.

Yikes! Tennessee's AG today said that landlords could ban tenants from carrying even if they had a CCL.

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... 94&t=29019" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As a prospective tenant I'd cite: 1) statements above; 2) it violates the spirit of Texas law permitting CHLs; 3) I, as a tenant, am not going to take on the liability of having to enforce this item. The LL will scratch it out, especially in this economy. Even in Texas, there's lots of empty space.

Please remember to post updates and the outcome!

I submitted my changes with this clause crossed out and without further comment; I'm waiting for a reply.

As to chuckybrown's comment:

I'd approach this very simply: the landlord wants a no firearms clause? It's a trade off. You say "sure, I'm ok with this. We' modify in the indemnification clause whereby the landlord exempts self-indemnification for safety issues, and accepts responsibility for the the safety and well being of the lessee and its' employees, customers, and vendors at all times".

It's an interesting idea, but of course, the LL does have other clauses specifically stating that they are under no obligation to provide security or to indemify against injury or death in the Premises, and I doubt that they would modify this; however I added a provision that Tenant is allowed to provide their own "security measures." While not specifically mentioning firearms as one of the measures, I think this plus the cancelation of the weapons clause would give me some scope.

I will give updates to the extent possible (yet another provision in the Lease would make the Lease terms confidential, so if the Lease ever gets executed, then no update).

The broader lesson here for everyone is this: check your Lease terms carefully!! As I mentioned, this was an obscure provision in a very long document and would be very easy for one to miss.

Any news on this one?

If a hotel can't keep you from having one with you, how can a land lord? Am I missing a distinction here?