THE LEASE LEADS EVERY CONVERSATION

Your executed lease and amendments govern, subject to applicable law. These lessons do not change your agreement. Bring the relevant lease section to every discussion with AUM.

FIVE QUESTIONS. CHECK EACH ONE.

  1. Who reports the condition?
  2. Who authorizes or arranges work?
  3. Who is permitted to perform it?
  4. Who pays under the applicable provisions?
  5. What records or approvals are required?

A service visit is not, by itself, a determination of cost responsibility. Check the lease, facts, and applicable requirements.

What you will learn.

How to separate responsibility for reporting, arranging, authorizing, performing, and paying for work. Those questions can have different answers.

Start with the responsibility map.

Find the maintenance, repairs, replacement, services, utilities, access, alterations, casualty, insurance, and operating-expense provisions. Read relevant exhibits and amendments. The location of an item inside or outside a suite is a fact, not a complete allocation rule.

A responsibility may be assigned directly, coordinated by one party and charged under another provision, shared under stated conditions, or affected by the cause of damage. Do not treat a service visit as a final decision about liability.

Keep five questions separate.

Who must report the condition? Who may authorize or arrange work? Who is permitted to perform it? Who must pay or reimburse the cost? What records or approvals are required? Use a row for each item—such as a dedicated air-conditioning unit, a common-area light, suite plumbing, or storefront glass—and a column for each question.

Worked scenario.

A tenant reports water near a cooling unit. Management coordinates a service visit to address the immediate issue. That coordination does not by itself show whether the landlord, tenant, contractor, or an insurer bears the ultimate cost. The system served, cause, maintenance history, lease wording, and applicable law may all matter. Prompt reporting and preserving records help the review.

Approval is a separate step.

Do not assume that being responsible for an item permits an unapproved alteration to it. Contractor qualifications, access arrangements, insurance, plans, permits, and landlord consent may need review. For a safety concern, follow emergency instructions; do not attempt hazardous work or interfere with building systems.

Your responsibility worksheet.

Choose five systems or components relevant to your premises. For each, enter the clause, reporting channel, authorization contact, cost provision, and open questions. Add any contractor or inspection records. Leave an uncertain allocation unresolved until it can be reviewed.

Ask AUM with the facts.

“This item serves __. The observed condition began __. Section __ addresses maintenance, and Section __ appears to address replacement. We have attached the service record. Please help identify the applicable process and the information needed to resolve responsibility.”

Practice reflection.

Does a landlord’s repair at another tenant’s suite establish your rights? No. Start with your agreement and facts. An explanation of another situation is not an amendment to yours.

Bring the lease back to the conversation.

Before asking AUM to act, identify the relevant section, any amendment, the dates involved, and the documents supporting your question. If the issue is a legal interpretation or dispute, seek advice from your own attorney. Routine staff conversations do not change your lease; any change must meet the agreement’s requirements and applicable law.