Guaranty of Leases

As a condition to entering into a new lease, landlords often require a guaranty of lease from a personal or corporate guarantor in connection with those tenant entities that do not have either a high enough net worth or annual revenue, or for whatever other reasons do not meet the landlord’s financial criteria. A guaranty of lease is a covenant by the guarantor to be responsible for the obligations of the tenant. For example, for a tenant business set up as a new limited liability company that has one or two principal owners, the landlord will likely require that the owners personally guaranty the tenant’s obligations under the lease because the limited liability company would have little or no assets and no track record. Or for a tenant entity that is a wholly owned subsidiary of a parent corporation, the landlord will likely require that the parent corporation serve as the guarantor. In these examples, a selective landlord would not enter into the lease without the tenant offering a creditworthy guarantor.