How can I terminate a commercial lease without serious damages?

I am sorry for the business problems. The landlord generally has no legal obligation to negotiate with you at all. The respective rights and obligations of the parties are left to the lease terms and state law.

So, unless the lease provides some unilateral right for you to terminate the lease prior to lease expiration without damages, you risk being sued for damages as provided under the lease. As a practical matter, I would doubt your lease has such a clause. In most states, the landlord must mitigate their damages by attempting to re-let the premises.

I would strongly recommend that you contact a local commercial real estate attorney to review your lease and determine strategies. Good luck.

DISCLAIMER—This answer is for informational purposes only and discusses general legal principles, trends, and considerations and is not intended as specific legal advice regarding your question. This answer does not establish an attorney client relationship.

Your landlord has no obligation to renegotiate. If you go out of business and abandon the premises, the landlord can sue the tenant for breach of the lease, and seek the balance of the rent for the three years. However, the landlord is obligated to try to relet the premises. In this economy the landlord will likely not be able to relet it. Regardless, the tenant will be liable for the landlord's damages from the breach, namely the three years rent minus the rent it can collect from new tenants. The real question to me is who is the tenant on the lease? If the tenant is a corporate entity that is going out of business and has no assets, then it really does not matter. However, often times, when the tenant is a corporate entity, the landlord will require the principals of the corporation to sign personal guarantee. Did this happen here? I cannot really give you any specific advice without knowing the details of the situation. If you want to call me Tuesday, feel free. Bill Harrington, 617-426-7400

The lease is a contract between you and your landlord that needs to be honored. While there is no obligation to renegotiate the lease, you should be sure to put the landlord on notice that you want him to list the property and you wish to end the lease early, if possible. It may not be.

Without knowing specifics it is hard to truly advise. I am in Stoneham, and will be happy to meet with you for an initial meeting to see if I can be of assistance. Having an attorney advocate for you may get your landlord to take notice.

DISCLAIMER: This answer is provided in response to a "hypothetical" question and provided for general, informational purposes and does not create an attorney/client relationship. The information presented is not legal advice and may change based additional information and research. It is recommended that you speak to an attorney to discuss your specific legal issues.