Customer small business financing solutions delivered through a single, online application.
Loan Types
Free access to multiple funding solutions
See funding solutions from 75+ nationwide lenders with a single application.
Apply for financing, track your business cashflow, and more with a single lendio account.
Home Blog How To Renegotiate Your Business Lease
Many tenants of both residential and commercial properties forget that they have the ability to negotiate their leases. While a landlord might set a specific amount for rent, you have the ability to counter with a different number that is more favorable to your business.
However, you need to be strategic about when you do this. If there are dramatic changes to the market or unfavorable conditions for the landlord, they may be more willing to renegotiate in order to keep you as a tenant.
If you are struggling to pay your rent each month—or just think you can get a better deal—follow these tips to effectively negotiate your rent.
Before you even reach out to your landlord to renegotiate your commercial lease, do your research, and come up with a plan. The main question you need to answer is this: what do you want to get out of the negotiation?
If you let your landlord set the terms going in, then they can easily make a small offer and you won’t know whether or not you really benefit. A few things to consider as you consider your terms include:
Answering these questions can help you make a reasonable proposal. They will determine how aggressive you are. Plus, they give you multiple cards to play. Even if your landlord doesn’t agree to change your rent, you can still request upgrades to your space, fee reductions, or extensions.
Negotiations are all about timing.
If your lease is about to expire in a few months, you can renegotiate because your landlord knows you might decide to move somewhere else.
However, remember that negotiations are a two-way street. If your landlord agrees to a lower rate, they might ask you to renew your lease or sign a longer lease agreement. In this case, they prefer financial stability in the long run and are willing to lose a percentage of their income because of it.
The negotiation process takes time. You can’t expect to ask for a new rental agreement and sign the papers within the same meeting. You need to prepare your landlord to renegotiate and will likely have multiple meetings and phone calls about the new agreement. Remember, they are doing their research too. They want to find reasons to either reject your negotiation or offer you a smaller discount.
Use the data and information you found to create a case for negotiations. You can point out how other companies aren’t paying rent at all or provide insight into how the real estate market has changed over the past few months or years. You need to show that this adjustment is in their best interest.
Additionally, look into what your landlord prioritizes. Some people invest in real estate to help their pension funds, which means they would prefer any form of income over months without a tenant. However, other landlords keep real estate as part of an investment portfolio and they won’t want to see their assets devalued because of lower rent. Knowing their financial situation can give you an idea of how flexible they will likely be.
Rent is typically one of the most significant expenses for a brick-and-mortar business. Even a small drop in your rental fees can have a significant impact on your business. If you do your homework and are reasonable in your negotiations, you may be able to get a better deal from your landlord.
Ready to move on from your lease and buy your own commercial real estate? Learn more about commercial mortgages.
Applying is free and won’t impact your credit.
Derek Miller is the CMO of Smack Apparel, the content guru at Great.com, the co-founder of Lofty Llama, and a marketing consultant for small businesses. He specializes in entrepreneurship, small business, and digital marketing, and his work has been featured in sites like Entrepreneur, GoDaddy, Score.org, and StartupCamp.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for industry news and business strategies and tips
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for industry news and business strategies and tips.