advice regarding Business/Retail lease situation (retail business, attorney, 2009, profit)

[mbuszu]

I'm thinking someone here might have relevant experience and advice for a situation I've found myself within.

I'm a small business owner who owns a retail business and this is the beginning of year two for me. I just received a shocker in the mail as I was presented with my lease-bill to pay my share of the plaza's property tax bill and for just the 1st six months of 2009 it equates to 1.25 times a single month of rent. Speaking with my landlord's admin I also learned that the 2nd half of 2009's tax bill will be identical and due in October (so the next effect is that I have roughly 3 times my monthly rent to pay each year in property taxes at this plaza location!).

The reason I'm shocked is that last year when my lease was negotiated and signed I was told to pay roughly 1/10th as much property taxes (and I did prorated for just 4Q2008 - I was never presented with the overall annual tax bill for the plaza but was told my share for 4Q2008 was a certain amount which I paid). What I was told by my landlord's admin is that I must've been given a one time tax discount by the landlord for the lease beginning - a "tax break" to help me get started.

I guess I'm upset that I'm now responsible for roughly 10-times what I paid last year (and was led to believe was the normal cost - not some limited time discount). I have verified in my lease agreement that I am responsible for "real and personal property taxes for the Common Areas as well as the Retail Shopping Center" - but as I stated I was told that my quarterly charge was 1/10th last year of what it apparently should have been.

Is there anything legally I can do to avoid having to pay the ridiculously inflated property taxes going forward? If I would've known the real cost was so high, I would've negotiated something to offset or eliminate it, but I didn't. Is this a situation where I just failed to ask the right question so I'm out of luck? Or is this a situation where it would be worth negotiating and pursuing legal action (if needed) to ensure business profitability in these tough economic times?

[chet everett]

What sayeth the lease? Not what was spoken, but written.

If the landlord knowingly mislead you VERBALLY but allowed you to review a written lease that spelled out the real situation there is not much you can do. If the lease is not specific enough then you MAY have an out as they cannot enforce something that was only mentioned verbally. Unfortunately you probably have to move out as unenforceable lease's remedy is generally to leave the premises NOT to renegotiate, thought given that demand for retail space is probably pretty weak...

Do you have an attorney? If they find the lease iron clad then you probably have to cough up your share. If there is any wiggle room and you want to stay you probably need to use the attorney to communicate your desire to remain a paying tenant however you need to "clarification over the terms", which, in the hands of good attorney is basically an invitation to work on a new lease agreement. Going forward be sure your ONLY communicate in writing as verbal promises tend to leave both parties overly vulnerable...

[user_id]

Yeah, look at the lease. It sounds like you just assumed that what you paid last year is what you'd pay this year.

This is why I like gross leases, and not NN, NNN, cam charges blah blah.