Lease Renewals
Start about 12–18 months before expiration, while you still have time to explore real alternatives.
By Noah Bradley, Founder & Principal Broker, Skylark Commercial Realty
One of the most common mistakes I see healthcare practice owners make is waiting too long to think about their lease renewal.
They like their space. The landlord has been fine. Nothing feels urgent. Then somebody looks at the lease and realizes it expires in six months.
At that point, you can still negotiate. But you may not have much leverage.
For most medical, dental, veterinary, optometry and other healthcare practices, I want the renewal conversation starting about 12 to 18 months before the lease expires. Your notice deadlines or a complicated relocation may require an earlier start.
That does not mean spending 18 months negotiating. It means giving yourself enough time to understand your choices while you can still act on them.
I often compare a lease renewal to an ace pitcher approaching free agency.
He may love his team. He may love the city. He may have every intention of staying.
But his agent is not going to sit down with the current team and say, “He likes it here. Just tell us what you think he is worth.”
The agent explores the market, team by team. Who needs a pitcher? What would they offer? Which opportunities actually make sense? What does the whole contract look like?
The pitcher may sign with the same team when it is all over. The difference is that he now knows what his alternatives are and what he is agreeing to.
That is how I think about your lease renewal.
We explore the market, landlord by landlord, to understand what other properties could work for your practice and what those landlords would offer to earn your tenancy. Then we compare those opportunities with staying where you are.
Exploring does not commit you to leaving. It gives you a reason to believe the decision to stay is a good one.
You don’t test the market because you want to move. You test the market so you know whether staying is the right decision.
A practice owner sees “Lease Expiration: June 30, 2028” and assumes there is plenty of time.
But the lease may require notice well before that date to exercise a renewal option. A six-, nine- or twelve-month notice requirement changes when you need to make decisions. Some leases specify a window for notice, along with instructions for how and where it must be delivered.
Missing a deadline can put your renewal rights at risk. Have your attorney confirm the actual requirements before you act.
And having a renewal option does not automatically make exercising it the best business decision. We still need to understand the rent, increases and other terms it would lock in, and how those compare with the market.
Start with the lease and every amendment. Get the important dates on the calendar. Then build the plan around them.
Because there is a big difference between saying you could move and actually having enough time to move.
Finding a vacancy is only the beginning. Could it support your clinical layout? What would plumbing, HVAC, electrical work and equipment installation require? Would the parking and patient access work? Are the proposed use and improvements permitted?
Those questions matter whether we are evaluating a dental office, a medical practice or another healthcare space.
If a property survives that review, there is still a lease to negotiate, legal review, design, permitting, construction and a move to coordinate. The timetable depends on the space, the municipality and the practice.
An available suite that you cannot realistically occupy before your current lease ends may not be a workable alternative.
That is why I want time on our side before the renewal proposal arrives.
First, we get organized. We review your current rent, annual increases, operating expenses, remaining term and notice dates.
Then we look at the practice. Has it outgrown the space? Are you paying for rooms you no longer need? Would a different location improve access, parking or referral relationships? Does buying a building deserve a look?
From there, we evaluate real alternatives. Asking rents are a starting point. We also need to understand improvement allowances, free rent, delivery condition and the cost of making each space usable.
A lower rent does not necessarily make a cheaper move. And a generous allowance does not automatically cover the work your practice needs.
We compare the full occupancy picture, including the expense and disruption of relocating. Sometimes that makes the case for staying even stronger.
That is useful information. The goal is a sound decision, not a move for the sake of a move.
Back to the pitcher: a team that is a terrible fit is not much of an alternative, regardless of what the headline contract number says.
The same is true of a building. It needs to work for your practice, your budget and your timetable. We have to be willing to take it seriously.
I am not talking about bluffing. I do not like fake leverage, and an experienced landlord can usually recognize it.
When we have evaluated legitimate options and there is enough time to pursue them, we can discuss the renewal with real information. The current landlord can decide what it makes sense to offer to keep you.
You can have a good relationship with your landlord and still do this work. Understanding the market is part of making a responsible business decision.
Start now.
Waiting does not guarantee a bad result, and it does not mean you have no choices. It means we need to get clear on the deadlines and what is still feasible.
Your notice window may already have passed. A relocation that once looked realistic may now be difficult to complete. If you remain after expiration, the lease’s holdover provisions may also mean higher rent or other consequences. Read the actual language with your attorney rather than assuming you can simply stay another month at the same rate.
We assess the remaining options and work from there. More delay will not improve the timetable.
If your lease expires three years from now, it may be too early to expect another landlord to hold an empty suite for you.
Planning and negotiating happen on different schedules.
You can understand the lease, calendar deadlines and think about your practice’s future well before you formally enter the market. Then we time the search and negotiations around the actual requirements of your situation.
The point is to have choices when the decisions need to be made.
If your healthcare lease expires within the next 18 months, pull it out now and figure out where you stand.
You may find that no immediate action is needed. You may find a notice deadline coming up. You may find that your current terms deserve a closer comparison with the market.
All three answers are useful.
Your ace pitcher might stay with the same team. Your practice might stay in the same space. In both cases, I want the decision made with a clear understanding of the alternatives.
Your lease renewal should begin while you still have enough time to decide whether you want one.
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