The activity carried out in leased premises can change the risks, permits and clauses that a commercial lease should address.
Do you know what activity is really being carried out in the property you leased?
When an owner uses the same standard form for every lease—even one drafted with an AI tool—it is easy to overlook that not every commercial activity creates the same legal, operational and regulatory risks.
A dental office is not the same as a spa, and a spa does not create the same risks as an oral-surgery practice. Although the premises may be in the same building and have the same owner, the leases should not necessarily be identical.
The problem usually does not appear when the parties sign. It appears later, when an incident occurs and someone asks: where was that written?
Colombia has seen cases involving aesthetic procedures performed in homes, offices or establishments that, according to the reported facts, lacked the authorizations, conditions or health-service approvals required for the particular activity. Those cases do not by themselves establish that a landlord is liable for a tenant’s conduct. They do show why it matters to know and regulate the activity being carried out, especially where healthcare services, aesthetic procedures, waste management or third-party risks may be involved.
That changes how a commercial lease should be drafted and reviewed. Describing the premises merely as an office is often not enough. A sound agreement should, among other matters:
- define the authorized use precisely;
- require permits, licences, registrations or health-service approvals applicable to the tenant’s activity;
- state who may use the premises and on what conditions;
- regulate assignment and subleasing;
- consider insurance where the activity and allocation of risk justify it;
- prohibit changes of use without the landlord’s prior written approval; and
- establish contractual consequences for non-compliance, without prejudging any administrative, civil or criminal liability under applicable law.
Periodic review matters too. Rules change, rent changes, the physical space changes and tenants change. Yet many leases remain the same document drafted ten years ago: copy, paste, change the name, change the rent, sign—until a problem arises.
A standard form can be a starting point, including one prepared with AI assistance. It should not be the final document without legal and commercial review tailored to the property, the actual activity and the specific risks of the relationship. Each property has its own risks; each activity has different requirements; and each landlord-tenant relationship deserves analysis before signature.
When did you last truly review the lease you use for your properties?
General information only. It is not legal advice for a particular matter.