Commercial Lease Renewal
The company’s president, as approved by the BOD, exercised the lease renewal option for our office for an additional 5 years as stated in our lease agreement. However, the landlord has notified us that the renewal is invalid because it was not signed by all the grantors on the lease. We purchased the company’s stock, the prior owner was listed on the lease as a grantor. In the assignment of the lease he also accepted to be grantor in the event the company exercised the renewal option. Therefore the company and its owners did not feel it was necessary to obtain his approval of the renewal based on the prior assignment of the lease. My question is, if the company’s owners & BOD have approved the lease option, and the prior owner already agreed to accept to be a grantor in the event the company renewed, did the company have to obtain the approval of the prior owner as grantor? The company is the tenant, not the grantor(s), does the company have the right to renew the lease? The prior owner has not notified the landlord that he wishes to be removed from the lease. In the event he did request to be removed, or refused to be listed as a grantor could this be cause for the landlord to not accept the company’s renewal?