A lease abstract is like a cheat sheet for a lease. It’s a simple summary of all the important details and provisions from a lease in one easy-to-read document.
Why Are Lease Abstracts Important?
Commercial leases can be very long and complicated, sometimes more than 50 pages! That’s a lot of information to sort through if you need to find something specific, like the landlord’s contact information or the rent amount.
Imagine different departments in a company—like Legal, Accounting, and Facilities—need to find the same information from the lease. Here’s how it works:
- The legal team needs to mail a notice, so they open the lease to find the landlord’s contact info.
- The accounting team has a question about a bill and needs that same contact info.
- The facilities team might need the landlord’s contact to request roof access.
All these departments are opening the same lease over and over again, wasting time.
Now, think about a lease that has several important provisions that people need to reference. The same procedure is carried out each time over the lifetime of the lease. In addition, if a portfolio has several locations, it leads to a lot of extra work and inefficiencies. On top of that, things might change in the lease over time, so the changes, if not tracked properly is easy to miss.
How a Lease Abstract Helps
This is where a lease abstract comes in. It’s a summary of the key information from the lease. The information is all in one place, easy to find, and easy to understand. This saves time and helps everyone get the information they need quickly without having to search through the whole lease document.
What’s Included in a Lease Abstract?
The lease abstract contains both critical and non-critical information. Here’s an example of the types of details you might find in a lease abstract. Keep in mind, depending on the industry or company, the abstract might have more or less information.
Critical Information (Dates and Dollars)
- Lease Term
- Rent
- Security Deposit
- Options
- Address
- Square Footage
- Contact Information
- Critical Clauses (such as termination)
Non-Critical Information (Clauses)
- General Clauses
- Industry-Specific Clauses
How a Lease Abstract Saves Time and Reduces Work
The information from the lease is sifted through, summarized, and organized into a concise format. This makes it easy for anyone to find the information they need without opening the entire lease document.
When a stakeholder needs a certain data point, the lease abstract acts as the “one source of truth.” All departments have access to the same information, ensuring consistency.
While there may still be times when someone needs to refer back to the full lease for more detailed information, the lease abstract covers the most frequently needed details. This reduces the need to open the full lease for routine questions that come up across departments.