Lease Abstract

# Lease Abstract

Turns a lease (plus amendments and related agreements) into a short abstract a real estate attorney, client or lender can rely on without rereading the lease, with every critical date pulled into one table.

## What to ask for
- The lease and every amendment, extension, side letter, guaranty, SNDA, estoppel and commencement-date memo. Ask whether the set is complete.
- Which side the firm represents (landlord, tenant, lender, buyer) and the purpose (renewal decision, acquisition diligence, dispute, financing).
- The actual commencement date if the lease ties dates to delivery or opening.
- If something is missing, abstract what's there and mark gaps as [MISSING: ...]. Never fill a term from "market" or from a different document type.

## How to work
1. **Document stack.** List every document with date and parties. Later amendments control; note which section each amendment changes. Flag any reference to a document not provided (exhibit, work letter, prior amendment).
2. **Parties and premises.** Exact landlord and tenant entity names, guarantor and guaranty scope (full, capped, good-guy, burn-off), premises address, suite, rentable vs. usable square feet, load factor, parking, storage, any right to remeasure.
3. **Term.** Commencement and rent commencement (often different), expiration, how the commencement date is set (delivery, substantial completion, opening), free-rent and abatement periods and whether abatement claws back on default.
4. **Rent.** Base rent schedule, escalations (fixed bumps, CPI with floors/caps, fair market resets), percentage rent and breakpoint, late charges, interest.
5. **Operating expenses / CAM / taxes.** Gross, modified gross or net; base year or expense stop; pro rata share and denominator; exclusions (capital items, management fee cap); controllable-expense caps and whether they're cumulative; gross-up; reconciliation timing; tenant audit rights and audit window.
6. **Security.** Deposit or letter of credit amount, burn-down schedule, return conditions, transfer on sale.
7. **Options and rights.** Renewal (number, length, notice window, rent method, conditions such as no default and tenant in occupancy), expansion, contraction, termination (fee, notice), ROFR/ROFO (space covered, response time, carve-outs), purchase option.
8. **Use and exclusives.** Permitted use, prohibited uses, radius restriction, operating covenant, go-dark rights, exclusive granted to tenant and exceptions, exclusives granted to others that bind tenant.
9. **Co-tenancy.** Opening and operating co-tenancy triggers, named anchors or occupancy percentage, remedy (alternate rent, termination), cure period and how long alternate rent lasts.
10. **Transfers.** Assignment and subletting consent standard (sole discretion vs. not unreasonably withheld), permitted transfers without consent (affiliates, merger, sale of assets), recapture right, profit-sharing, whether change of control is a deemed assignment.
11. **Maintenance, alterations, insurance, casualty, condemnation.** Who repairs what (roof, structure, HVAC), restoration and surrender obligations, insurance limits, waiver of subrogation, casualty termination rights and timelines.
12. **SNDA and estoppel.** Subordination clause, whether non-disturbance is conditioned on it, existing SNDAs, estoppel turnaround time and deemed-approval language.
13. **Default and remedies.** Monetary and non-monetary default, notice and cure periods, landlord remedies (acceleration, lockout language), landlord default and tenant self-help or offset, limitation of landlord liability, jury waiver, attorney fees.
14. **Holdover.** Rate (percentage of last rent), month-to-month vs. tenancy at sufferance, consequential damages exposure.
15. **Unusual provisions.** Anything off-standard or one-sided for the client: uncapped indemnities, relocation rights, landlord termination for redevelopment, personal guaranty without cap, waiver of statutory rights, confidentiality, kick-out clauses, ambiguous or conflicting sections.
16. **Critical dates.** Every date or notice window, calculated where the lease allows. Show the calculation; if it depends on an unknown date, mark [MISSING].

## Output

**Lease Abstract: [Tenant] at [Premises]**  Prepared for: [client / side]  Documents reviewed: [list]

1. **Snapshot** (3-5 lines): parties, premises and size, term, current rent, lease type.
2. **Key terms** table: Term | Summary | Section | Notes (rows in the order of steps 2-14)
3. **Rent schedule** table: Period | Monthly rent | Annual rent | Per sq ft
4. **Unusual or high-risk provisions** (bullets, most important first, each with section cite and why it matters to this client)
5. **Critical dates** table: Date | Event | Action required | Notice method | Section | Calculation
6. **Gaps and inconsistencies** (missing documents, conflicting sections, [MISSING] items)
7. **To verify** (e.g. statutory limits on deposits or holdover in the jurisdiction, notice-by-email validity, recording requirements)

## Rules
- Draft for attorney review; not legal advice to the client.
- Statutory rules (deposit limits, holdover, notice delivery, rent control) vary by jurisdiction and change: list them under "To verify", never state them as final.
- Never invent facts, dates, amounts, case law or citations. Unknown = [MISSING].
- Cite the section for every term. Quote the lease's exact words for options, notice windows and consent standards.
- When an amendment changes a term, show the current term and note the original in Notes.
- Compute dates conservatively (earliest possible deadline) and say so. Note whether "days" means business or calendar days.
- Don't characterize a provision as "market" or "standard" unless the user asks; describe what it does.