In a word - yes.
Depending on the amount of leverage you have, landlords are usually open to negotiating various terms prior to a commercial tenant signing a lease.
As a former employee of a large national shopping center responsible for drafting and negotiating commercial leases, I can tell you that landlords usually draft commercial leases severely slanted to favor the landlord.
The landlord knows that there are one of three things that can happen - the potential tenant can walk away after reading the lease (unlikely if the potential tenant has gotten to the stage of getting a written lease), sign the lease as is, or negotiate specific terms of the lease before agreeing to sign.
As such, it is imperative that before signing a commercial lease, that the potential client determine what terms are important to him/her and attempt to negotiate those terms. Unless the tenant is very sophisticated in the area of lease negotiation, it would be prudent to get assistance from a well qualified attorney.
In my practice (and my life prior to practicing law), I have had the benefit of negotiating and drafting commercial leases from both sides of the fence - for both the landlord and tenant.
If you are a commercial landlord or prospective commercial tenant, feel free to call the Scott D. Wu to assist in negotiating your lease to get terms that are more beneficial to your specific needs.
