Lease Renewal Checklist | Shelton & Associates

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• ☐ Operating expenses and base year: Base year resets, gross-up assumptions, and caps on controllable expenses can materially change costs over the term. 

• ☐ Free rent and net effective rate: Starting rent alone is misleading, abatement and timing drive net effective rent. 

•  ☐ Tenant improvement scope: Renewal TI is often limited; define scope, pricing, and responsibility. 

•  ☐ Flexibility rights: Expansion, contraction, or early termination rights are rarely offered unless requested. 

•  ☐ Assignment and sublease language: Restrictions can limit exit options and reduce future lease value. 

•  ☐ Parking, signage, and use provisions: These are often left “as-is” even when needs or market standards change. 

•  Tenants considering a renewal vs relocation
   
•  Companies with 12–36 months remaining on a lease  
   
•  Office, industrial, life science, and medical office users
   
•  Tenants seeking a second opinion before signing 

• Tenant-only renewal review - We review renewal proposals exclusively from the tenant’s perspective, identifying cost drivers and risk items often overlooked in landlord-drafted terms. 

• Market-based leverage analysis - Renewal recommendations are grounded in current  market conditions, including free-rent norms, TI expectations, and operating expense treatment by submarket. 

• Total occupancy cost focus - Rather than headline rent alone, we focus on the full financial impact of operating expenses, escalations, base-year structure, and flexibility provisions over the term. 

 Send over the renewal proposal (PDF is fine) and I’ll highlight what matters most. No obligation and no fee to tenants.