The renewal clause decides who controls the rent at the end of the first term.
An eight-page negotiation tool for Ontario business owners reviewing a commercial lease renewal. Three negotiable terms, sample clause language for each, walk-away math, and five questions to ask before you give notice.
What is inside
- 01A signed note from Damaris.Why DRG built this checklist and how to use it before your next renewal decision.
- 02The standard clause annotated.Five short phrases that decide whether your renewal is real or a request for permission.
- 03The negotiated alternative annotated.Independent arbitration replaces the landlord's unilateral pricing power. Five fixes called out.
- 04Three negotiable terms with sample clause language.Notice timing, rent determination, what carries over. Each with a checklist and the exact phrasing to ask for.
- 05Walk-away math and five questions.Put a number on the cost of NOT renewing. Five questions to ask any lawyer reviewing your lease.
Damaris will show it on the next page.
No charge. The checklist opens on screen as soon as you submit.
Most renewal clauses give the landlord pricing power over every five-year term.
Twelve-month notice. Rent set by the landlord. Same terms and conditions, which includes every landlord-favourable clause from the first term. If you cannot agree, the lease ends and you move out of the space you built.
This checklist replaces the silence with mechanism. Independent arbitration breaks the pricing monopoly. Rent caps protect the build-out. Real renewal, not a request for permission.
The renewal clause decides whether the business you have spent five or ten years building still has a home at the end of the first term. Most renewal clauses are written so the landlord controls the rent, the timeline, and the conditions of staying. This checklist puts real language in front of you so you can ask for what matters before you sign, not after the renewal letter arrives.
DRG Law Professional Corporation