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Basic Negotiation Principles

When negotiating a contract remember two things. First, in the world of contracts, if it isn’t on paper, it isn’t “real.” Your landlord is not legally bound by anything they say, only by what they write down and sign. Second, you are not negotiating only with the person across the table. Your landlord may be a very pleasant person, a person of their word, a person you can trust. But you are not only making the contract with them. You must assume that the contract will be referred to and used by others: by the landlord’s business partners, his attorney, anyone the landlord might sell the property to, the courts that may have to be involved should there be a dispute or bankruptcy. The contract must be able to exist as a stand-alone document, a document that protects your rights no matter what should happen or who should get involved later.

Tradeoffs and compromises are the name of the game in contract negotiations. Think about what you bring to the table before you sit down. One bargaining chip you have is the business you will bring to the center. Think about what your landlord wants. They want stable, professional tenants who can fulfill the terms of their contract and pay their rent on time. They want tenants who fit in with the image of their shopping center. They want steady business that will make their center thrive. If you can prove you provide these things, it puts you in a good negotiating position.