In this article, you'll learn:

• What force majeure is and how it affects commercial real estate contracts.
• How COVID-19 could trigger force majeure clauses in leases.
• The impact of government actions and the virus on lease agreements.
• How tenants might benefit from renegotiating leases during this time.

Contract agreements are an important part of any business’ operations. Commercial real estate (CRE) lease agreements provide building owners with a security net to ensure that their space will continue to be occupied at a certain rate and price for the duration of the contract. Normally, commercial leasing agreements are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to break out of—short of one of the parties declaring bankruptcy.