Commercial Lease Attorney Serving the DMV
Signing or renewing a commercial lease in Maryland, D.C., or Virginia? Work directly with one attorney to review, negotiate, and limit your exposure before you sign.
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Thienel Law reviews and negotiates commercial leases for business tenants and landlords across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. Work directly with one attorney licensed in all three, before you commit to a multi-year obligation.
A commercial lease attorney reviews and negotiates the lease a business signs for its space, so the terms protect the tenant and not just the landlord. The lease a landlord hands you is a form drafted by the landlord’s lawyer, and it is written to shift cost and risk onto you. Thienel Law helps businesses across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia read, negotiate, and sign commercial leases on terms they can live with. You work directly with Stephen Thienel, one attorney who handles the business, tax, and estate sides of your company, so the lease fits the entity that signs it and the personal exposure you take on. A lease is often a five- or ten-year commitment, and the time to fix it is before you sign.
What is a commercial lease, and who needs an attorney for one?
A commercial lease is the contract that lets a business occupy office, retail, industrial, or warehouse space in exchange for rent and other charges. Any business signing a new lease, renewing an existing one, or taking over space from another tenant needs the lease reviewed before signing. Owners who are personally guaranteeing the rent, tenants facing large operating-expense charges, and any company that may want to move, expand, or sell during the term have the most at stake.
What can go wrong when you sign a commercial lease without counsel?
Most commercial leases ask the business owner to sign a personal guaranty, which puts your house, savings, and personal assets behind the rent if the business cannot pay. A lease with uncapped operating-expense or common-area charges can cost far more than the base rent suggests. Many leases bar you from assigning or subletting the space, so if you sell the business or need to move, you stay on the hook for years of rent. Automatic renewal and holdover clauses can lock you in or charge penalty rent when you try to leave. These terms are negotiable, but only before you sign.
What does Thienel Law handle in a commercial lease?
Every lease is negotiated around how the space will actually be used and who carries which risk. Common work includes:
- A full lease review with a plain-language summary of the terms that bind you
- Negotiation of base rent, annual escalations, free rent, and tenant improvement allowances
- Review and negotiation of any personal guaranty, including limiting it to a “good guy” guaranty where possible
- Caps on common-area maintenance and operating-expense pass-throughs, with audit rights
- Assignment and subletting rights, so you can sell the business or exit the space
- Renewal options, expansion rights, and defined holdover terms
- Permitted-use and exclusive-use clauses that fit your business
- Allocation of maintenance, repair, and HVAC responsibility
- Default, notice, and cure provisions, plus estoppel and subordination terms
You get clear, flat terms before the work begins, so you know the scope and the cost up front.
How does a commercial lease review work with Thienel Law?
You start with a free 30-minute consultation. It is a fit conversation for business owners who are ready to hire an attorney, not a strategy session, so we use it to understand what you need and confirm we are the right fit to help. From there you work directly with Stephen, not a paralegal or an intake team. The practice runs online, with secure document sharing, video meetings, and electronic signatures, so you can move a lease forward from wherever your business is based. Because the tax and entity work sits in-house, the guaranty and the signing entity are reviewed together with the lease terms.
How do commercial leases differ across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia?
Commercial leases are governed mostly by the negotiated document rather than by tenant-protection statutes, but one baseline rule runs through all three jurisdictions: a lease that lasts more than a year generally must be in writing and signed to be enforceable. In Maryland, a leasehold created orally rather than by a signed writing has only the force of a tenancy at will, and that rule does not apply only to leases of one year or less. Virginia’s statute of frauds bars an action on a lease of real estate for more than a year unless it is in a signed writing. The District of Columbia requires the same for an agreement concerning an interest in real estate or one that cannot be performed within a year. Because the written lease controls, the terms you negotiate into it matter far more than any oral assurance.
Related business services for DMV tenants
A lease sits alongside the rest of your company’s legal foundation. If the entity that will sign the lease does not exist yet, start with business formation, because who signs the lease affects your personal exposure. A lease is a contract, so the same review discipline applies to your other business contracts. When you buy or sell a company, the assignment of its lease is often a closing condition, and multi-owner companies should align the lease with their operating agreement and any buy-sell agreement. For businesses that need lease and contract help throughout the year, Thienel Law also serves as outside general counsel. All of these sit under the firm’s business law practice.
What clients say about working with Steve
I have worked with Steve Thienel for more than 20 years now and the experience has been amazing. Steve and his team are very thorough, they review all sides of a situation, and are very measured in how they approach a solution. They are 100% client focused and a pleasure to work with!
Throughout years, Steve has been my go to guy for business, real estate, and legal work. Steve works fast and is highly reliable. I would recommend Steve to anyone.
Received expert advice including options when applicable. Filings were timely and I was kept informed each step of the way. First class service!!!
I have been receiving services from Mr. Thienel for over 15 years. I have found his legal services to be of exceptionally high value and quality. His services are always timely, professional and thorough!
Reviews are published as given. Thienel Law does not offer compensation for reviews.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a lawyer to review a commercial lease?
A lawyer is not legally required, but a commercial lease is a long, binding contract drafted by the landlord's attorney to favor the landlord. An attorney reviews the rent, guaranty, operating-expense, assignment, and renewal terms and negotiates the points that carry the most risk before you commit.
What is a personal guaranty, and can I avoid signing one?
A personal guaranty makes you personally responsible for the lease if your business cannot pay, which puts your personal assets at risk. Landlords often require one, but it is negotiable. In many cases it can be limited to a "good guy" guaranty, which caps your exposure to the period before you properly surrender the space.
What is a triple net lease and what are CAM charges?
In a triple net, or NNN, lease, the tenant pays base rent plus a share of the property's taxes, insurance, and common-area maintenance, so the real cost is well above the quoted rent. Common-area maintenance, or CAM, charges are the tenant's share of operating the building. These charges should be defined and capped, with the right to audit them.
Can I get out of a commercial lease early?
It depends on the lease. Without an assignment, subletting, or early-termination right built into the document, you generally owe rent for the full term even if you close or move. Negotiating assignment and subletting rights before signing is the main way to keep an exit available.
Does a commercial lease have to be in writing in Maryland, D.C., or Virginia?
Yes, for any lease longer than a year. All three jurisdictions require a lease for a term of more than one year to be in a signed writing to be enforceable, under each one's statute of frauds. An oral multi-year lease is not reliably enforceable, so the written document is what protects you.
Does Thienel Law represent landlords or tenants?
Stephen represents business tenants and landlords in commercial lease matters across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, though not both sides of the same lease. Working with one attorney licensed in all three jurisdictions keeps a lease consistent whether your space is in the District or across the state line.
Ready to review your commercial lease?
If you are ready to hire an attorney to review or negotiate a commercial lease, let's talk. Book a free 30-minute consultation and work directly with Stephen Thienel across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia.
- Tell Steve about your matter
- Pick a time that works