Can my landlord take back the space instead of letting me assign the lease to a buyer?
Only if your lease actually gives the landlord that right. Some commercial leases include a "recapture" clause, allowing the landlord to terminate the lease and take back the space rather than consent to a proposed assignment, instead of the tenant assigning to its chosen buyer. Where a lease has one, the landlord doesn't have to justify recapture the way it might need to justify an outright refusal of consent — recapture is simply a contractual option the lease gives them.
Where the lease has no recapture clause, a landlord generally cannot simply reclaim the space in place of consenting; the tenant's right to seek an assignment (subject to consent) remains intact, and the landlord's choices are limited to consenting, reasonably refusing, or being challenged for an unreasonable refusal, depending on the lease's own consent standard.
Because a recapture clause can derail your entire sale — leaving you without a location for the buyer to take over — it needs to be identified before you go too far down the road with a buyer. A Treadstone business lawyer can flag this risk early in the process.
Key takeaways
- A landlord can only recapture the space if the lease specifically gives that right.
- Recapture clauses let a landlord terminate rather than consent, without needing to justify a refusal.
- Without a recapture clause, the landlord's options are generally limited to consenting or refusing.
- Identify a recapture clause early — it can derail a sale that otherwise looks straightforward.