Lease assignment

Definition

The landlord's transfer of the lease, usually needing written consent.

Why It Matters

When the location is the business, this third party can kill a deal or reprice it late, and they have every incentive to take their time about it. Make consent a closing condition and start the conversation the week the LOI is signed, since a landlord who learns of the sale from your lender is a slower landlord. Read what remains on the term as carefully as the consent itself: a lease with two years left on a business you are financing over ten is a repricing appointment you have already agreed to.

In numbers: A buyer assuming a $6,500-a-month lease needs the landlord's written consent, and landlords use the moment: a bump to $7,200, a fresh personal guarantee, or a bigger deposit are all common asks. On a thin-margin business, that $700 a month is a 1.6% cut to a $520,000 SDE.