Product Description

Recent updates:

• Update: December 2025

  Dear Subscriber:

  Thank you for choosing to stay current in commercial lease drafting with this 2025 edition of Lease Drafting in Massachusetts . Inside, you will find updated material on a broad spectrum of topics that you will likely find to be of interest, such as these:

  • Execution and delivery of lease. See chapter 1 for a cite to a recent Appeals Court case, where the court declined to enforce obligations arising from a partially negotiated lease amendment, emphasizing that without a fully executed document, claims tied to an alleged modified lease failed under the statute of frauds.

  • Limited liability companies as parties to leases. See chapter 2 for a discussion of LLCs' identification of a real property signatory. The chapter includes information pertaining to LLCs organized outside of Massachusetts, and recent developments.

  • Warranty of fitness and duty of repair. See chapter 3 for citation to a 2024 case confirming that failure to timely correct known sanitary code violations after notice may constitute both a breach of the implied warranty of habitability and a violation of Chapter 93A.

  • Sustainability practices. Chapter 7 discusses the case where a landlord's sustainability practices might go so far as to require the tenant to use certain materials and follow certain procedures in conducting maintenance and repairs. Cleaning materials might be limited to those that adhere to particular standards, and maintenance might be limited to performance during building hours to avoid heavier after-hours use of utilities. There is a citation to a publication that addresses "green" leases.

  • Tenant's and landlord's ability to transfer rights and divest themselves of leasehold obligations. Chapter 9 discusses a tenant's flexibility to adjust its obligations based upon changes in its operations or needs. It also addresses limitations on a landlord's ability to divest itself from liability under a lease following a sale.

  These are just a few of the issues addressed in this 2025 revised edition, which we trust you will find useful in your real estate leasing practice and valuable in your law library collections.

  Cordially,

  MCLE Press

Table of Contents

Chapter 01 expand

Formal Aspects of Leases

Buy Chapter

Gary D. Buchman, Esq., Sherin and Lodgen LLP

Exhibit 1A

- Letter of Intent Buy Form

Exhibit 1B

- Lease Language Pertaining to the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) Regulations, and Anti-Terrorism Act Buy Form

Exhibit 1C

- Notice of Lease Buy Form

Chapter 02 expand

Parties and Power to Lease

Buy Chapter

Peter Brassard, Esq., Dain, Torpy, Le Ray, Wiest & Garner, PC

Chapter 03 expand

Rights Conferred on the Tenant by the Lease

Buy Chapter

Timothy M. Smith, Esq., Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

Exhibit 3A

- License Agreement for Interior Store in Shopping Center Mall Buy Form

Exhibit 3B

- Commencement Date Confirmation Buy Form

Exhibit 3C

- Sample Clauses Reserving Landlord’s Right of Entry Buy Form

Chapter 04 expand

Use of Premises

Buy Chapter

Michael Holiday, Esq., Holiday Law Firm, PC

Chapter 05 expand

The Term of the Lease

Buy Chapter

Eric M. Labbe, Esq., Dain, Torpy, Le Ray, Wiest & Garner, PC

Chapter 06 expand

Forms of Rent and Related Matters

Buy Chapter

Michael J. Riley, Esq., Dain, Torpy, Le Ray, Wiest & Garner, PC

Exhibit 6A

- Gross Sales Definition and Exclusions and Deductions Buy Form

Exhibit 6B

- Sample Continuous Operation Clause Buy Form

Exhibit 6C

- Sample Provision Compelling Periodic Statements and Landlord’s Audit Rights Buy Form

Exhibit 6D

- Sample Real Estate Tax Provision for Shopping Center Lease Buy Form

Exhibit 6E

- Sample Operating Expense Provision for Office Building Buy Form

Exhibit 6F

- Sample Provision for Damage by Fire or Other Casualty Buy Form

Exhibit 6G

- Sample Provision for Taking by Eminent Domain Buy Form

Exhibit 6H

- Sample Tenant and Landlord Default Provisions Buy Form

Exhibit 6I

- Sample Tenant Default Damage Provision Buy Form

Chapter 07 expand

Condition of Premises

Buy Chapter

Peter F. Granoff, Esq., Riemer & Braunstein LLP

Chapter 08 expand

Insurance, Subrogation, and Indemnity

Buy Chapter

Richard Heller, Esq., Sherin and Lodgen LLP

Chapter 09 expand

Transfer of the Landlord’s or Tenant’s Interest in the Lease

Buy Chapter

Alyssa Anderson, Brown Rudnick LLP
Thomas J. Phillips, Esq., Brown Rudnick LLP

Chapter 10 expand

Options to Purchase

Buy Chapter

Peter Friedenberg, Esq.,

Chapter 11 expand

Ground Leases

Buy Chapter

Thomas Bhisitkul, Esq., Hinkley, Allen & Schneider LLP

Exhibit 11A

- Sample Ground Lease Use Clause Buy Form

Exhibit 11B

- Sample Ownership of Improvements Clause Buy Form

Exhibit 11C

- Sample Construction of Improvements Clause Buy Form

Exhibit 11D

- Sample “Three Appraiser” Valuation Clause Buy Form

Exhibit 11E

- Sample Casualties Clause Buy Form

Exhibit 11F

- Sample Eminent Domain Clause Buy Form

Exhibit 11G

- Sample Net Cash Flow Rent Clause Buy Form

Exhibit 11H

- Sample Negation of Partnership Clause Buy Form

Exhibit 11I

- Sample Transfer of Ground Tenant Interest Clause Buy Form

Exhibit 11J

- Sample Leasehold Financing Clause Buy Form

Exhibit 11K

- Sample Estoppel Certificates and Landlord Cooperation Clause Buy Form

Exhibit 11L

- Sample Default and Remedies Clause Buy Form

Chapter 12 expand

Impact of Bankruptcy on the Landlord-Tenant Relationship

Buy Chapter

Jennifer V. Doran, Esq., Hinckley Allen LLP

Chapter 13 expand

Special Issues for Residential Leases

Buy Chapter

Scott D. Carman, Esq., Krems, Jackowitz & Carman, LLP
Kenneth A. Krems, Esq., Krems, Jackowitz & Carman, LLP

Chapter 14 expand

Environmental Matters

Buy Chapter

Jeffrey L. Roelofs, Esq., Law Offices of Jeffrey L. Roelofs, PC

Chapter 15 expand

Novel Commercial Leasing Arrangements in the Current Economy

Buy Chapter

Jennifer I. Connelly, Esq., Sherin and Lodgen LLP
Matthew S. Cote, Esq., Goodwin Procter LLP
Beth A. Goldstein, Esq., Sherin and Lodgen LLP

Exhibit 15A

- Sample Form Subordination, Non-Disturbance and Attornment Agreement (SNDA) Between Fee Lender and Solar Tenant Buy Form

Editor(s)

Author(s)