On the occupier's side of the table.
Lease negotiation, relocations and space placement for corporate, government and institutional occupiers. Your broker works for you alone, and knows how landlords price a deal.
What is tenant representation?
Tenant representation is a commercial real estate broker acting for the business that is leasing space, not for the landlord. The tenant rep defines the requirement, surveys every suitable building, including ones that are not formally listed, and negotiates the rent, the inducements and the lease terms. For publicly listed space the brokerage fee is usually paid by the landlord, so representation typically adds no direct cost to the tenant.
Four occupier categories.
Corporate Headquarters
Large-format office and mixed-use space for public companies and private growth-stage firms. National rollouts and consolidations included.
Industrial Users
Distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, and last-mile logistics for corporate users sizing 100,000 to 1M+ sf of space.
Healthcare Tenants
Medical office, ambulatory surgical centers, and specialty clinics. Landlord lease review and renegotiation included.
Government & Institutional
Federal, provincial, and municipal lease procurement. Public-sector procurement requirements and security-clearance facilities.
How a tenant rep engagement runs.
- 01
Requirements definition
Space program, geographic constraints, financial parameters, timing, must-haves versus nice-to-haves. We document this rigorously before any tour.
- 02
Market survey
Comprehensive submarket scan including on-market, off-market, and pre-market opportunities. Owner relationships often surface buildings that are not formally listed.
- 03
Tour and shortlist
Coordinated tours of qualified options. Side-by-side comparable analysis with total occupancy cost modeled out 5 to 10 years.
- 04
Letter of intent and negotiation
We negotiate from the LOI through final lease execution. Rent abatement, TI allowance, expansion options, surrender clauses: every term is on the table.
- 05
Lease audit and possession
Lease document review, build-out coordination if applicable, and possession. We stay engaged until your team is in the space.
What does a tenant rep negotiate?
Every term that sets what the space costs over the life of the lease, and how much room the tenant has to change course. We model total occupancy cost over five to ten years, because a lower rent with a thin inducement package is often the more expensive deal.
Rent and escalations
Net rent per square foot, the annual steps, and how the term length trades against both. The starting rent is rarely where the most money is.
Inducements
Rent-free months, tenant improvement allowance and landlord’s work. For build-out-heavy uses such as medical or lab space, these are often worth more than a lower rent.
Additional rent
Operating costs, property tax and management fees. Caps on controllable costs, exclusions for capital repairs, and audit rights keep the total occupancy cost predictable.
Flexibility
Renewal and expansion options, rights of first refusal, early termination, and the right to assign or sublet. Negotiated at the start, when the tenant has leverage, not at the end.
Selected engagements.
Tenant representation, answered.
Who pays for a tenant representation broker?
For publicly listed space, the landlord usually pays the brokerage fee: the listing commission is shared with the tenant’s broker when the lease is signed. Where that may not be the case, such as an off-market opportunity, or a landlord or listing brokerage offering less than the standard commission, we advise the tenant of any balance before proceeding. The fee is always set out in the tenant representation agreement, in full transparency.
Why not deal with the landlord’s broker directly?
The listing broker is engaged by the landlord, and their job is to lease the space on the landlord’s best terms. They can be helpful and honest, but they cannot advise you on whether the rent, the inducements or the lease clauses are good for you, or show you the competing building down the street.
How far ahead of a lease expiry should a tenant start?
Typically 12 to 18 months ahead for office and smaller industrial space, and 18 to 24 months for large industrial, headquarters or medical space that needs a build-out. Renewal options usually require written notice six to twelve months before expiry, and the landlord knows that date as well as you do. Starting early is what gives a renewal negotiation a credible alternative.
Do you represent tenants on lease renewals?
Yes. Many renewals are negotiated without a broker and leave money on the table. We survey the market so the renewal is priced against real alternatives, then negotiate the rent, a fresh inducement package and updated lease terms with the current landlord.
How is industrial tenant representation different from office?
Industrial requirements turn on the building, not the floor plate: clear height, loading doors, trailer parking, power, floor load, sprinklers and whether zoning permits the use. Lease terms differ too, with more responsibility for repairs and building systems usually falling on an industrial tenant, so the lease review matters as much as the rent.
What is a tenant representation agreement?
It is the written agreement that engages a brokerage to act for a tenant. It sets out the type of space and the area searched, the term of the engagement, and how the brokerage is paid. In Ontario we use the standard OREA tenant representation agreement. RECA does not publish a standard agreement for commercial real estate, so in Alberta we use our own exclusive agreement, drafted to comply with RECA requirements.