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A Virginia commercial lease agreement is needed when you want to rent an industrial, retail, or office space to a business entity. While the laws in the state of Virginia aren't too complicated, there are some rights and responsibilities you must be aware of.

This article has information on how landlords must draft a legally-binding document for commercial leases in Virginia.

Virginia Commercial Lease Agreements

According to the law, there are three types of commercial lease agreements landlords can create: the Gross, Modified Gross, and Triple Net Leases.

  • Gross - The tenant must cover rent, and the landlord must pay for other rental expenses, including insurance, taxes, and more.
  • Triple Net - The tenant must take care of rental payments and all other rental expenses.
  • Modified Gross - The tenants can discuss with their landlord to see who will take care of particular expenses surrounding the unit.

Write Your Own

Consider the following structure when drafting a Virginia commercial lease agreement:

  • First Section - The data of each party involved, information about the industrial, rental, or office space (property), arrangements for maintenance, repairs, and taxes, and the date of the term.
  • Second Section - Rental payments for the property, term renewals (if applicable), and security deposit terms.
  • Third Section - Licenses and Permits for the property.
  • Fourth Section - Vital clauses and other miscellaneous data for the rental contract and the rental spaces, including smoking laws, pet laws, sign placement laws, giving special repairs to the unit, and others.

Specific Considerations

  • Late Rent: If the tenant fails to pay rent within the specified period, the landlord has every right to evict them the next day.
  • Security Deposit: There's no stated legal limit surrounding the amount of security deposit the owner can charge for a commercial property in Virginia.
  • Self-Help Eviction: The landlord can use self-help eviction measures to get tenants out of the rental property, including locking the tenant out. Self-help eviction measures aren't allowed for a residential document.
  • No Duty to Maintain: No landlord is required by laws to keep the rental spaces in any particular shape before renting them.
  • Evictions: The landlord can evict their tenant from the business entity rental if they don't maintain the unit in good shape or breach their responsibilities or state laws in any way.
  • Parking: Separated structured parking is reserved for the people renting the unit, and they must maintain it in good shape.

Mandatory Disclosures

Lead Paint: According to the law, the owner must provide each party with a lead paint disclosure if the Virginia commercial property was built before 1978.

Build Your Own

If you don't have time to draft a Virginia commercial lease agreement, feel free to download our commercial lease template today (PDF or Word)! These agreements have all the necessary data regarding rights, rules, and other real estate factors for this legally-binding piece. You can also make an order to generate a customizable template that you can use to add any relevant data surrounding your unit.

Bottom Line

Virginia commercial properties have particular laws, as with all other states. If you want your retail relationship with your tenant to be healthy, make sure to follow all of the rights and rules stated on this real estate page. You may also request our website to generate a template that you can adjust any day.

FAQs

What Happens Once the Lease Expires?

According to real estate laws, any person staying in the unit must leave it when the leasing period ends. If they fail to leave upon the specified date, the owners can take legal action in court any day at any time.

Do Commercial Arrangements in This State Need to Be Notarized?

No, there's no need to make an order to get a piece notarized to comply with the law and the court. However, some people request to get them notarized in some states just in case.

Can You Make Adjustments to the Lease Contract in This State?

Owners can make adjustments to it when they consider it appropriate, including changes in the reserved parking spots for people. However, owners giving any adjustments to the form must get it notarized again if they chose to do it in the first draft.

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David is the co-founder & CMO of DoorLoop, a best-selling author, legal CLE speaker, and real estate investor. When he's not hanging with his three children, he's writing articles here!