Greenprofs

Green Building Leases:
By Tamara Farber, Toronto and David Holmes, Toronto

Last June (2008), the Real Property Association of Canada (REALpac) released a national standard “green” commercial lease in response to a demand by landlords and tenants for leases with “green” components. A conventional commercial lease may not be sufficient to incorporate green components nor to ensure that landlords’ interests are aligned with tenant usage. Conventional leases do not anticipate emerging issues such as emissions trading or greenhouse gas regulatory caps. Green leases, on the other hand, do cover the above issues, and they encourage the use of green materials in building improvements and encourage green practices by both the landlord and tenant in the management, use and occupation of the building. The generic model has some issues which would benefit from customization and advice regarding how best to accomplish that depending upon who is seeking the advice. For more information, visit our website and full article: www.millerthomson.com (All environmental articles, including “Green Building Leases” are found in Publications – EnviroNotes.

Tamara Farber is a Partner at Miller Thomson LLP in the firm’s Environmental and Litigation Groups. She is a Certified Specialist in Environmental Law. David Holmes is an Associate in the firm’s Real Estate Group and previously practiced in the U.K.

www.millerthomson.com/docs/EnviroNotes_Fall_2008.pdf