How green is your lease?

     Thalhimer’s Katherine Campbell, CCIM, a LEED-Green Associate in our Virginia Beach office, discusses the dynamics of Green Leases which she provided to Inside Business and published in a recent issue.

"So how does a local company interested in promoting sustainability go about achieving a green lease? The easiest way would be to occupy a LEED-certified building.

Liberty Property Trust developed the first private-sector LEED-certified office buildings in our region, Liberty III and Independence Place, both in Chesapeake. S.L. Nusbaum Realty recently completed the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Norfolk and expects to achieve LEED certification.

To protect their certification, these building have "green" leases. Green leases, like traditional leases, have provisions that pose conflicts between the interests of the tenant and of the landlord.

In a LEED-certified building, the tenant can expect to find provisions in the lease specific to maintaining the certification, including building rules that might govern window shades during certain hours and certain seasons.

The tenant may find this intrusive, or it may put them at risk, since a violation of building rules can in some leases trigger an event of default. The issue should be addressed during lease negotiations."

Read the full article here:  http://insidebiz.com/news/how-green-your-lease