What to Include in a Business Lease Termination Letter

Even if you have a comfortable relationship with your landlord, a lease is a legal, binding document, and if you don’t plan to renew, it’s your responsibility to write a commercial lease termination letter to your landlord.
Timely notification will help ensure the return of your security deposit, and if you’re terminating the lease early, the letter is even more important.
When should the letter be sent?
In most cases, a notice of termination should be sent 30 days prior to the end of the lease period, but you should review your lease to ensure you’re following the stated procedure. Although 30 days is the norm, it can vary. It could cost you money if you write a commercial lease termination letter to your landlord that includes all the right information, but it’s sent 15 days past the required notification date.
What information should be included in the letter?
If your commercial lease is coming to an end and you’ve found a more suitable location for your business, there are certain pieces of information the letter should contain for the benefit of both your business and the landlord. They are:
- The address of the property (The landlord may have many properties to manage. Don’t make them guess.)
- The specific date you plan to vacate
- The date you plan to surrender the keys
- The date you plan to have the utilities turned off
- A request for a property inspection
- A forwarding address
- Your contact information
What additional information should be included if you’re terminating early?
If you plan an early termination of the lease, acknowledge that fact in the first paragraph. Provide justification for your actions from a business standpoint, and if there are provisions in the lease for early termination, be sure to reference them if there’s a penalty clearly stated in the lease, attempt to negotiate with the landlord to mitigate the cost to you.
How to write a commercial lease termination letter to a landlord if your business is closing
If your business is closing, you may want to include the date your company will cease operations. Otherwise, the information remains the same.
As with most business correspondence, a thank you is appropriate. Even if you are glad to be getting out of that place, burning bridges just isn’t a good idea. If you need some guidance, Resume-Now has a variety of cover letter examples for you to peruse.