Our Commercial Leasing Group

At Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG), your success and satisfaction are our priority.

The high-stakes, ever-evolving world of commercial leasing embraces many complex business and legal issues. Our Commercial Leasing Group is the choice of those who need innovative expert advice, unparalleled service and, most of all, timely results.

We have comprehensive commercial leasing experience including negotiating and documenting offers to lease and leases and litigating disputes, defaults and remedies. In fact, certain of our Commercial Leasing Group members have been consistently ranked in the top national and international legal ranking publications including the 2009 edition of Best Lawyers in Canada and the 2009 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory.

Notably, our Commercial Leasing Group provides full-service leasing advice to local, national and international landlords, tenants, and property and asset managers, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), pension funds, major retailers, manufacturers, distribution, pharmaceutical, and financial services companies. We also have expertise with all types of leased premises, including office, industrial, retail, restaurants, hotels, resorts, airports, sports facilities, hospitals and medical/dental centres.

Commercial leasing transactions often involve a broad range of legal issues. As a result, we work closely with our colleagues in other practice areas, such as environmental law, construction law, tax and municipal law, to ensure you receive comprehensive advice.

You can rely on the Commercial Leasing Group to stay focused on your success. With passion and drive poured into everything we do, BLG is your trusted and well-connected advisor.

Our Services

Leasing Documentation and Transactions

• Represent landlords and tenants in negotiating and finalizing all lease documentation for office, retail, and industrial premises, restaurants, business parks, mixed-use projects, warehouses, hotels, resorts, airports, sports facilities, hospitals and medical/dental centres.
• Represent both public and private sector clients at all stages of long-term ground leasing and sale/leaseback transactions, including public-private infrastructure projects and financing leases.
• Represent developers to secure multiple leases from landowners in connection with establishing wind energy turbine farms.
• Represent landlords and telecommunications providers with respect to establishing telecommunications infrastructure such as rights to access buildings and install wiring and equipment, rooftop rights, rights to construct towers and rights to co-locate with other utilities.
• Advise landlords where tenants are involved in receivership proceedings or proceedings under the Companies Creditors' Arrangement Act or the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

Leasing Arrangements

• Negotiate and prepare term sheets, memoranda of understanding, letters of intent, non-binding letters of intent, offers to lease, leases, subleases, sub-subleases, licenses, agreements with head-landlords, restrictive covenants, exclusivity agreements, non-disturbance agreements, agreements with lenders, mortgagees and chargees, agreements with holders of securities interests, estoppel certificates, tenant certificates, surrenders, terminations, renewals and extensions, rights of first refusal and rights of first opportunity. Develop and negotiate standard forms of offers to lease and standard forms of lease for office, retail and industrial premises.

Landlord-Tenant Disputes, Rights and Remedies

• Help resolve landlord-tenant disputes outside of court, including maintenance issues, security deposits, rent arrears, operating cost disputes, CAM disputes, property tax disputes, repossession, receivership, evictions, and damages.
• Help enforce landlord-tenant rights and remedies, including defaults, termination, surrenders, lease amendments and distress.
• "Green" Real Estate and LEED Certification
• Advise developers, planners, investors and government agencies, among others, in a broad range of areas related to "green" buildings and "green" leases, including "green" lease agreements, sustainable development projects through clean-energy technology, and projects designed to rehabilitate existing structures.
• Help clients in the real estate industry become LEED-certified to achieve energy efficiency and maximize environmental performance in several areas, such as sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

Environmental Compliance and Permitting

• Assist our clients in meeting all environmental compliance and permit requirements arising from federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations, including with respect to contaminated lands, brownfield sites, and waste and materials management.
• Advise our clients in performing environmental due diligence assessments both before and at the conclusion of commercial leasing transactions.

Land Use Planning and Subdivision

• Assist clients on all aspects of municipal zoning and planning issues affecting development and permitted use of sites, (e.g., securing approval to zoning by-laws and amendments, official plan amendments, site plans, variances, committee of adjustments, and subdivisions, including air space subdivisions).

Our Experience

Our Commercial Leasing Group's experience includes the following illustrative transactions:

• Participation in the development of the new Montréal campus of BCE, with one of our Group's members acting as lead lawyer. This project is one of the largest and most prestigious single-tenant developments to have been built in Montréal during the past 30 years. The new campus comprises an approximate total area of 800,000 square feet and will be the workplace for approximately 4,000 BCE employees.
• Preparation and negotiation of ground leases and construction agreements with the City of Toronto on behalf of a private corporation for a mixed-use redevelopment.
• Participation in the transfer of over 300 properties and all leases when Bell Nordiq Group privatized the Bell Nordiq Income Fund, with one of our Group's members acting as lead lawyer.
• Negotiation and conclusion, on behalf of developers, of franchise and license agreements with international hotel chains to be located in Alberta and Ontario.
• Preparation and negotiation of switching facility leases, point of presence site agreements, municipal access agreements and tower agreements on behalf of telecommunications providers.

Related Practice Group Areas include:

• Commercial Real Estate
• Construction, Engineering, Surety and Fidelity
• Public-Private Infrastructure Projects