A tenant's ways out
Some leases include an early termination option, usually with a notice period and a fee. Without one, a tenant's options generally come down to negotiating a surrender agreement with the landlord, assigning the lease or subletting the space if the lease allows it, or simply leaving and facing a claim for the remaining rent. In New York, commercial landlords have generally not been required to re-let the space to reduce what a departing tenant owes, unless the lease says otherwise. That rule changes the negotiating math, and it is one reason a written surrender is usually worth the effort.
The guaranty question
Many New York leases come with a personal guaranty, and in New York City a common form ends the guarantor's liability once the tenant gives proper notice and surrenders the space on the terms the guaranty sets. Whether a guaranty is limited this way, and whether its conditions have been met, often decides how much personal exposure is left when a lease ends early. Guarantors should read their own document closely rather than relying on what the tenant's principals remember from signing.
When the landlord ends the lease
A landlord who wants to end a lease because of a default usually has to follow the lease's notice steps closely, often a notice to cure followed by a notice of termination, before bringing a holdover proceeding. A landlord who wants the space back without a default generally needs a lease clause allowing it, or the tenant's agreement. Gather the lease, every amendment, the guaranty, and any notices exchanged. Our review weighs what the lease permits, what each exit would cost, and how to sequence a negotiation so neither side is caught by an unexpected deadline.
