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Lease Amendments, Lease Modifications, And Lease Assignments

by | Jan 17, 2019

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A lease, in real estate, is an agreement between a landlord (lessor) and a tenant (lessee). In exchange for rent, the tenant gets use of the property. As binding contracts, leases can’t be changed without the written consent, and signatures, of the landlord and tenant.

Lease Amendments
In a real estate lease, a lease amendment is generally used to change the existing lease agreement, without having to draft and sign a new agreement. Lease amendments are typically used to add, delete, or change the terms of the lease. After you amend a lease, other than the terms that are covered in the lease amendment, the original terms of the lease agreement still apply.

Lease Modifications
In a real estate lease, a lease modification is generally used to change the scope of the lease or something that wasn’t part of the original terms of the lease. Lease modifications can be treated as part of the original lease or as separate leases. Lease modifications for commercial leases are often used to expand or decrease the size of the space being leased, or extend or shorten the duration of the lease.

Lease Assignments
In a real estate lease, a lease assignment can be used to transfer a lease from one tenant to another. With a lease assignment, unless otherwise stated, all of the rights (and obligations) of the lease will be transferred to the new tenant. In general, when a tenant assigns a lease to someone else, the original tenant no longer has rights to possession of the property, but sill has liability under the original lease agreement (unless there’s an express release of liability). It’s important to note that a lease assignment is NOT the same thing as a sublease, even though the two are often confused.

Commercial Leases And Residential Leases
Leases are used for commercial properties such as office buildings, retail stores, warehouses, industrial spaces, and more. Leases are also used for residential properties, such as single-family homes, duplexes, townhomes, lofts, condos, and apartments.

We’d be happy to review or draft a lease, lease amendment, lease modification, or lease assignment for you.

See also: Leases: Commercial And Residential

At Timely Contract, we have local real estate attorneys who have experience throughout Idaho, including: Boise, Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston, Moscow, and Sandpoint.

We also have local real estate attorneys who have experience throughout Montana, including: Missoula, Billings, Bozeman, and Kalispell.

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