Retail Leasing Glossary
Retail real estate terms, explained for Orange County deals.
Use this glossary before reviewing an LOI, comparing retail spaces, negotiating with a landlord, or evaluating a shopping center vacancy.
NNN Lease
A triple-net lease where the tenant typically pays base rent plus property taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance charges.
CAM Charges
Common area maintenance charges are tenant reimbursements for shared property costs such as landscaping, lighting, parking areas, security, and repairs.
Tenant Improvement Allowance
Money or work value a landlord contributes toward a tenant’s buildout, usually negotiated with rent, term, delivery condition, and credit quality.
Letter of Intent
A non-binding business-term outline used before lease documents, typically covering rent, term, options, TI, contingencies, signage, and use.
Exclusive Use
A lease clause that restricts the landlord from leasing other space in the center to competing uses.
Use Clause
The lease language defining what the tenant is allowed to do in the space.
Assignment and Assumption
The process for transferring lease rights and obligations, often used when a business is sold or ownership changes.
Percentage Rent
Additional rent based on a tenant’s sales above a negotiated breakpoint.
Co-Tenancy
A lease concept tying a tenant’s obligations or remedies to the presence of specified anchors or occupancy levels.
Delivery Condition
The condition in which the landlord must deliver the premises before the tenant’s work or rent obligations begin.
Option to Renew
A lease right allowing the tenant to extend the term if notice and other conditions are satisfied.
Go-Dark Clause
Lease language governing whether a tenant can stop operating while continuing to pay rent.
Radius Restriction
A lease clause limiting a tenant from opening another location within a defined area.
Right of First Refusal
A right allowing a party to match a third-party offer before the owner or landlord accepts that offer.
Permitted Signage
The signs a tenant may install under the lease, center criteria, and city rules.
Grease Interceptor
A plumbing system that captures fats, oils, and grease before wastewater enters the sewer system.
Patio Rights
Lease and approval rights allowing a tenant to use outdoor space for seating, display, or customer activity.
Anchor Tenant
A major tenant that draws customers to a center and supports smaller shop tenants.