Contracts for Real Estate & Property Businesses
Most property disputes trace back to a lease, sale, or vendor contract that was signed without checking title, deposits, or maintenance obligations closely enough — problems that are cheap to catch before signing and expensive to unwind after.
A real estate or property business typically needs lease and sale contract review before any deal closes, vendor and contractor agreements for maintenance and construction work, a service agreement where property management is outsourced, and a formal legal notice as the standard route when a tenant stops paying.
Your contract stack
Roughly in the order you’ll need them. Each links to what our lawyers check in that document.
Every lease, sale, or purchase agreement before signing
Any contractor, maintenance crew, or supplier doing work on the property
Outsourcing leasing, facilities, or tenant management to a third party
A single vendor servicing multiple properties in your portfolio under one umbrella
Hiring site managers, leasing agents, or in-house maintenance staff
Sharing rent rolls, valuations, or deal terms during a sale, financing, or joint-venture negotiation
A tenant or buyer stops paying and stops responding
Where real estate & property businesses businesses actually get caught
Title and encumbrance gaps that surface after money has moved
A defective title or an undisclosed lien is far cheaper to find during diligence than after a deposit or full purchase price has changed hands — verification has to happen before signing, not as a formality alongside it.
Security deposits with no defined return process
Disputes over deductions and return timelines are one of the most common landlord-tenant conflicts, and almost all of them trace back to a deposit clause that never specified either.
Maintenance obligations split ambiguously between landlord and tenant
Structural repairs, common-area upkeep, and fixture maintenance need to be assigned explicitly. "As reasonably required" is not an assignment — it is an invitation to disagree about it later.
A contractor’s liability cap that does not match the property at risk
A maintenance or construction vendor’s standard liability cap is usually sized to their own fee, not to the value of the structure or the disruption a failure could cause — worth checking against the actual asset, not accepting the vendor’s template figure.
Clauses that matter most here
Plain-English explanations of the terms that carry the most weight in this industry.
Frequently asked questions
Title and encumbrances, permitted-use restrictions against your actual intended use, who is responsible for structural versus routine maintenance, security deposit terms, common-area charges and how they can escalate, and exit/renewal terms.
Not sure which contract you need first?
Upload whatever you have for a free Contract Health Check, and a lawyer will tell you what’s missing as well as what’s wrong.