Free New York Commercial Lease Agreement Template

A New York commercial lease agreement rents non-residential property — a storefront, an office, a warehouse, a restaurant space — to a tenant who will trade from it. Two bodies of law meet here: the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law supplies the summary proceeding, and the Real Property Law supplies the termination rules.

Much of the Real Property Law is written for residential tenancies. The provisions that reach a business tenancy say so, and knowing which is which is most of the work.

The rent demand is the step that governs almost every nonpayment case.

The Fourteen-Day Rent Demand

RPAPL § 711(2) allows a summary proceeding where the tenant has defaulted in the payment of rent under the agreement by which the premises are held, and a written demand of the rent has been made with at least fourteen days’ notice. That demand must require, in the alternative, payment of the rent or possession of the premises, and be served as § 735 of the article prescribes.

Fourteen days is a floor rather than a ceiling. A lease may set a longer demand period, and the statutory language sets only the minimum.

RPAPL § 711(1) covers the other common ground: a tenant continuing in possession after the expiration of the term.

Month-to-Month Inside New York City

RPL § 232-a separates residential and non-residential tenancies expressly. For a tenancy other than a residential tenancy in the city of New York, the landlord or the landlord’s agent must serve at least thirty days before the expiration of the term a written notice that the landlord elects to terminate the tenancy, and that unless the tenant removes on the day designated the landlord will commence summary proceedings.

Service follows the manner in which a notice of petition in summary proceedings may be served.

It depends on the shape of the tenancy and where the premises sit. A fixed term simply expires, and RPAPL § 711(1) reaches a tenant who stays past it.

For a month-to-month arrangement inside New York City, § 232-a’s thirty-day route applies to a non-residential tenancy, and that thirty days runs to the expiration of the term rather than from the date of service. Outside the city, RPL § 232-b governs the notification terminating a monthly tenancy of lands or buildings.

RPL § 232-c addresses what happens when a tenant whose term ran longer than a month holds over, and the effect of the landlord accepting rent afterwards. Whether a holdover creates a new tenancy in a New York commercial lease agreement can turn on that acceptance, so a landlord deciding whether to bank a cheque is making a legal choice.

1. Settle base rent, additional rent, escalation, the term, and where operating costs land.
2. Set the rent demand period in the lease if you want longer than the fourteen-day statutory minimum.
3. Give the term a definite expiry date so the month-to-month notice rules do not apply by default.
4. Decide expressly what a holdover creates, rather than leaving it to the effect of accepting rent.
5. Execute the lease and record where notices are served on each party.

The statutes govern notice and procedure; a New York commercial lease agreement supplies the commercial terms:

• Legal names of landlord and tenant, and the entity behind each signature.
• A description of the demised premises, including floor, suite, and shared areas.
• Rent, additional rent, the due date, and the basis for escalation.
• The term with a stated expiry, plus renewal options.
• An express holdover clause naming the rate and the tenancy that results.
• Allocation of real estate taxes, insurance, and operating costs.
• Permitted use, assignment and subletting consent, and the notice address for each party.