Commercial lease renewal: a 12-month negotiation timeline
By Francisco Williams, CCIM · CCIM · Executive Vice President, Williams Capital Advisors · CalDRE #01979442 · Updated
Short answer
Start renewal planning 12 months before your lease expires, earlier if you have an option with a notice deadline. Check your option dates, survey the market, decide whether you'd move, and then negotiate rent, term, tenant improvements and caps together. Missing an option notice date can cost you the right to renew.
Find the dates first
Read the lease for renewal options, notice windows (often 6–12 months before expiration), how option rent is set, and holdover terms. Put every date on a calendar.
The 12-month timeline
Work backward from the expiration date.
- 12 months out: Calendar option notice deadlines; pull the lease and all amendments.
- 11 months: Gather your occupancy costs (rent, CAM, taxes) for the last 2 years.
- 10 months: Survey comparable spaces and rents; tour 2–3 alternatives.
- 9 months: Decide: renew, relocate or buy.
- 8 months: Send a written proposal (rent, term, TI, caps).
- 6 months: Deliver any required option notice in the form the lease requires.
- 3 months: Sign the amendment; plan any improvements.
General timeline; your lease's notice terms control.
What's negotiable
Base rent and increases, term length, free rent, tenant-improvement allowance, CAM caps, assignment and sublease rights, and the next renewal option.
Know your alternative
Your leverage is a credible alternative: another space, or buying. Run the lease vs. buy comparison before you negotiate.
Next step
Owners thinking about buying can browse WCA listings.
Frequently asked questions
When should I start negotiating a commercial lease renewal?
About 12 months before expiration, or earlier if an option notice is due.
What if I miss the renewal option deadline?
You may lose the option right; the landlord can then set new terms.
Can I ask for tenant improvements on a renewal?
Yes; TI allowances are common negotiating points.
Sources
Next step
See current WCA listings →Proposition 13 and commercial property: what changes when you buy
How a change in ownership resets the assessed value of a California commercial property and what that means for NNN tenants and buyers.
NNN, modified gross or full service: what your lease makes you pay
Who pays taxes, insurance and maintenance under the common commercial lease types, and the CAM clauses small tenants miss.