When an HVAC, electrical, or plumbing issue comes up in leased commercial space, start with the relevant lease language before authorizing work. This page names practical operating questions; it does not decide who pays or interpret a lease.
Your lease is the final word, every time. Read it before authorizing major work.
HVAC under a triple-net lease
Start with the HVAC maintenance and repair clauses in the lease. Note the equipment involved, the facts of the issue, and any approval or documentation instruction in the document before work is authorized.
Scheduled maintenance and repair are different jobs. If the unit is already down, it is a repair call. For the confirmed scheduled-maintenance scope, see commercial HVAC maintenance. For a practical records checklist, read the rooftop-unit maintenance guide.
Electrical work under a triple-net lease
Start with the part of the lease that covers electrical work. Record what happened, identify the circuits, outlets, fixtures, or equipment involved, and follow any approval or documentation instruction in the document before authorizing work.
Plumbing under a triple-net lease
Start with the part of the lease that covers plumbing. Record what happened, identify the fixtures, drains, or equipment involved, and follow any approval or documentation instruction in the document before authorizing work.
Two more line items your lease probably puts on you
The big three are where the money and the urgency are, but they are not the whole list. Two other items show up in most DFW commercial leases, and tenants tend to find them the same way they find the HVAC clause, which is late.
Recurring AC maintenance the lease requires
Most commercial leases put HVAC maintenance on the tenant, usually an inspect and clean twice a year. It is a service obligation rather than a repair, and it is owed whether or not anything is broken. Two things go wrong when it slides. The unit fails earlier than it had to, and the landlord asks for service records you cannot produce.
We run that visit on a schedule we keep track of. We inspect the rooftop unit or split system, clean it, flag what we find, and leave you a dated line-item record for the lease file. That record is the document a landlord asks for. See commercial HVAC maintenance for what the visit covers, or read the rooftop-unit maintenance guide for a lease-focused overview.
This is scheduled and quoted work rather than a same-day call. If the unit is already down, that is a repair, and it is covered in the HVAC section above.
The parking lot outside your door
Pavement is the item tenants assume belongs to somebody else. Often it does not, and even when the landlord arranges the work, the cost usually comes back to you. Lot repair is commonly a common area maintenance item, which means the landlord can pay the contractor and then charge it through in the annual CAM reconciliation. You pay either way. The difference is whether you saw the scope and the invoice at the time, or found the number twelve months later in a reconciliation statement.
The lease decides which of the two it is. Some leases put pavement repair on the tenant to arrange directly. Others keep it with the landlord and recover it through CAM. Drainage structure, including roof drainage and lot drainage, normally stays with the landlord. Read the common area maintenance clause and the repair clause together before you agree to pay for either one.
We cut out and patch failed sections, in concrete or asphalt, including broken-up spots in truck yards and drive lanes. We do not do full lots, resurfacing, or new slabs. If the whole lot is finished, we will tell you straight and you can bring in a paving contractor. See parking lot patching.
Your lease is the final word
Read the relevant lease language before authorizing major work. If a specific question is unclear, ask the landlord in writing and keep the reply with the lease file. We do not give legal advice or interpret leases.
Any work beyond the original quote gets approved by you, in writing, before we start.