Industrial and commercial leases should address environmental responsibility expressly, because default allocations are unsatisfactory to both sides.

Tenant covenants. Compliance with environmental laws; a prohibition on hazardous materials other than those disclosed and used in the ordinary course; notice of releases and of regulatory contact; and cooperation with the landlord’s inspections.

Landlord representations. Baseline condition at delivery, supported by a Phase I and where appropriate a Phase II, so that the tenant is not defending pre-existing conditions.

Surrender condition. Whether the tenant must restore the premises to the baseline condition, and how that is measured. A closure sampling protocol agreed at signing is far easier than one negotiated at the end of a twenty-year term.

Indemnity. Mutual and time-limited by reference to the period of each party’s occupancy or ownership.

Compliance obligations for site-wide issues. Which party bears the cost of regulatory upgrades affecting the building rather than the tenant’s operations.

Lender considerations. Lenders on either side will require specific provisions and may require the tenant to be named in environmental indemnities.

Assignment. Environmental obligations should survive assignment and bind successors, since the exposure outlasts the tenancy.