A commercial lease will shape your business for years. The rent on the first page is the number everyone looks at; the real cost is spread across the clauses that follow.

These are the six clauses we read twice in every lease we review, what to look for in each, and what landlords will usually agree to change.

1. Rent reviews

Most leases increase the rent during the term. The clause says how: by a fixed percentage each year, in line with inflation, or by a market review, where a valuer decides what the rent should be. Fixed increases are predictable. Market reviews can bring large jumps, especially in a rising market.

Ask for a cap on any increase, and check whether the rent can go down at a market review as well as up.

2. Outgoings

Outgoings are the building’s running costs: rates or property taxes, insurance, cleaning, maintenance, security and management fees. Many leases pass a share of these to the tenant on top of the rent. Ask for a written estimate for the first year, check how your share is worked out, and make sure you can see the actual figures each year.

Some costs, such as major structural repairs or the landlord’s own borrowing, should not be passed on. Read the list carefully.

3. Make-good

The make-good clause says what you must do when the lease ends. In its widest form it can require you to remove every fitting, repaint, replace the carpets and return the premises to the condition they were in before any tenant moved in. That can be the biggest bill of the whole lease.

Before you move in, take dated photos and video of every room, and attach a condition report to the lease. Ask for your obligation to be limited to the condition at the start of your lease, allowing for fair wear and tear.

4. The term

The term is how long you are committed for. A longer term gives security, but it also means paying rent for years even if the business moves or closes. A shorter term with options to renew can give you both security and flexibility.

5. Options to renew

An option lets you extend the lease for a further period if you choose. Check how and when you must exercise it. Many options must be exercised in writing within a narrow window months before the lease ends, and missing it can mean losing the premises. Check, too, how the rent will be set for the new period.

6. Personal guarantees

Landlords often ask a business owner to guarantee the lease personally. If the business can’t pay, the landlord can then pursue the owner’s own assets, sometimes including their home. Before you sign a guarantee, understand exactly what it covers and for how long.

Ask for the guarantee to be capped, for example at six months’ rent, or replaced with a bank guarantee or a security deposit. Ask for it to end if the lease is transferred to a buyer of your business.

Other clauses worth a look

• Permitted use: make sure it covers everything your business does, and might do.

• Assignment and subletting: you will want to be able to sell the business with the lease.

• Repairs: who fixes what, especially air conditioning and plumbing.

• Fit-out: who pays, who approves it and who owns it at the end.

• Relocation and demolition: whether the landlord can move you or end the lease early.

What to ask for

A cap on rent increases, a clear outgoings estimate, a photo record of the premises before you move in, a fair make-good clause and a limit on any guarantee. Landlords expect to negotiate, and the time to ask is before you sign. Once the lease is signed, every change needs the landlord’s agreement.

How we help

We review the lease, explain each of these clauses in plain words, and list the changes worth asking for. We can negotiate them for you, or give you the wording to send yourself. We quote a fixed fee for the review before we start.