Whether you’re a new or experienced business owner, it’s crucial to have the lease for your franchised business reviewed by an attorney with the experience of working with franchised businesses. You might feel confident in your ability to navigate this agreement on your own, but make no mistake: you have to take into account the effect of your franchsie agreement on your lease, so seeing one lease doesn’t mean you’ve seen them all.
Hiring a Franchise Attorney Can Be More Important Than You Think
Even if you’re working with a franchisor that you’ve worked with before, you don’t want to inadvertently agree to new and unfavorable obligations and liabilities, or sign away rights that are important buy may not have been in the past.
Matching the Lease Terms
If you’re a franchisee, you want to ensure that your lease matches your Franchise terms, as much as possible. Failing to do this can cause one of two problems: For one, you can be on the hook for the remainder of your franchise agreement with no place to do business because the commercial lease ran out. You could also be responsible for paying rent for commercial property that’s not generating income because the franchise expired.
An attorney can help you review both your lease and franchise agreement to assure parity between the two.
Are Renewal Rights Secured?
Franchisees who want to ensure their business is relatively stable should ensure the renewal terms of both the franchise and commercial lease match.
Your Interests When You Need to Exit the Lease
Just as important to franchise owners is entering into a lease knowing how they can get out when they need to. Generally speaking, it’s possible to exit a franchise business by selling it to another business owner or in some cases selling it back to the franchisor, and understanding how and if a lease may transfer to the new owner is imperative.
A franchise attorney can help you ensure you understand exactly what you need to do if you decide to exit the franchise. Without this kind of help, franchisees may be forced to meet obligations under the franchise agreement until it expires or assume liability for breaching the lease.
A lawyer can also assist in drafting and negotiating Force Majeure provisions, so if your business has to close due to unforeseen events, you are not paying rent on an unsuable location.
Is It Time to Call a Franchise Attorney?
If you need a franchise lawyer to help you review your franchise agreement or ground lease and ensure your interests are protected, reach out to Franchise Legal Support for more information.
Get in touch with us today by calling (888) 631-0048 or by contacting us online.