Real Estate Licenses and Leases: Tools, Risks, and Remedies for Attorneys

Glenn D. Wright | Wright Law Firm NYC

Glenn is an experienced commercial real estate attorney who routinely represents prospective landlords or tenants in commercial leases, such as retail, office, industrial, and billboard leases. Much of his practice involves Americans with Disabilities Law (ADA) litigation. He also handles transactions, specifically purchasing and selling businesses and commercial real estate.

Mr. Wright maintains his practice inside One Grand Central Place, across from Grand Central Station, in a legal suite with nearly twenty other attorneys and support staff. Glenn resides on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with his wife, Kristina, and enjoys running marathons and traveling.

Dov Treiman | Adam Leitman Bailey P.C

Mr. Treiman has been a partner at Adam Leitman Bailey P.C. since 2006 and chairs the Landlord-Tenant Civil Litigation Practice. Was involved in private practice for fifteen years before devoting his principal time to the collecting, editing, writing, and publishing of scholarly research materials in landlord tenant law. His writings include numerous articles in the New York Law Journal and many articles in the Landlord-Tenant Practice Reporter.

Mr. Treiman was the Founding Editor and Contributor of a great many articles to Landlord Tenant Monthly (4 volumes); Editor and Commentator, The Housing Court Reporter (24 volumes); Editor and Commentator, Treiman’s Commentaries (3 volumes); Editor, The Housing Court Reporter Chronological Annotator (3 volumes); Editor, The Housing Court Reporter Plaintiff-Defendant Tables (2 volumes); Editor, The Housing Court Reporter Digest (7 volumes); Editor and Commentator, Treiman’s New York Landlord Tenant Statutes Annotated (3 volumes); Editor and Commentator, Treiman’s Rent Stabilization Code Annotated (3 volumes); Editor and Author, Treiman’s Trial Manual; Editor and Principal Author, Treiman’s Encyclopedia and Dictionary (2 volumes); Editor and Commentator, Treiman’s Leading Cases (2 volumes); Editor, Public Documents of the DHCR; Editor, The Loft Board Reporter (18 volumes); Editor, The New York City Administrative Law Reporter (3 volumes); Editor, Landlord Tenant Appellate Reporter (7 volumes).

Of these, undoubtedly, the most important is the Housing Court Reporter, the standard work used by all the New York City courts and all quality practitioners of landlord-tenant law to search through some 50,000 cases for applicable precedents for appellate briefs, legal documents and motions.

Mr. Treiman was also commissioned by the State of New York to produce special editions of several of these works for their use in chambers by each of the Housing Judges.

In all, Mr. Treiman has written over 80 volumes about landlord-tenant law and has often been quoted as authority in decisions written by the various courts and by other legal commentators. Mr. Treiman is a principal author of most of the standard form leases and related documents in use throughout the New York City area and has created customized versions of many of these documents for the firm’s clients. Mr. Treiman has also written several other books on non-legal topics, both fiction and non-fiction.

Mr. Treiman is a highly sought lecturer on landlord-tenant subjects and has been retained by most of the providers of Continuing Legal Education in New York State. He was the principal consultant to the New York Times for landlord-tenant matters. Mr. Treiman is the Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Apartment Law Insider.

Mr. Treiman has been recognized for this work with featured biographies in Who’s Who in American Business, Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who in America and has been designated in AVVO as “Superb,” and has repeatedly been designated as a Super Lawyer. Mr. Treiman earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his Juris Doctor from St. John’s University, School of Law. Mr. Treiman has also received certificates from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and from Princeton Theological Seminary “With Distinction.” Mr. Treiman has studied numerous languages and is strongly conversant in several of them.

Session I – Structuring and Strategizing License Agreements | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

• Real estate license vs. Lease
  • Understanding key differences
  • Benefits and limitations of each approach
• Strategic uses of real estate licenses
  • Ideal applications: Short-term occupancy, flexible workspaces, and event venues
  • When a license offers an advantage over traditional leases
  • Alternatives for varied occupancy needs
• Essential terms in license agreements
  • Key clauses to include permitted use, control, and flexibility
  • Addressing revocability, termination at will, and self-help provisions
• Termination rights and remedies
  • Rights available under a license agreement
  • Utilizing self-help for immediate possession
  • Best practices for maintaining control and flexibility in agreements
• Considerations for landlords and tenants
  • When and how to advise on license vs. Lease decisions
  • Important factors for landlords: Control, liability, and use restrictions
  • Considerations for tenants: Stability, permitted uses, and revocability
• Best practices for drafting and advising on license agreements
  • Crafting agreements that protect owners’ interests
  • Guidelines for advising clients on occupancy agreements suited to their needs • Litigation stemming from unclear termination provisions
  • Challenges in defending or enforcing ambiguous revocability clauses
  • Case studies where termination rights were litigated
  • Drafting techniques to preclude disputes over termination language

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

Session II – Mastering Real Estate License Agreements: Key Insights and Strategies | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

• Differences between eviction processes under leases versus license agreements
• Key procedural steps to recover possession under a license
• Common pitfalls in enforcing ADR provisions under license agreements
• Drafting techniques to preclude disputes over termination language
• Cell phone towers
• Laundry rooms—special dangers
• Temporary offices