A critical part of any tower or rooftop lease are the exhibits.
What is an exhibit? An exhibit is an attachment to the end of the lease that includes additional detail and information about the terms of your cell site lease.
4 Common examples of information contained on exhibits include:
1) Description of the ‘leased premises;’
2) Description of your property and where the ‘leased premises’ are located within your property;
3) Addressing property tax increases; and
4) An example ‘memorandum of lease.’
Following is some perspective on what each of those exhibits “do” for a lease:
1) Description of ‘leased premises.’ This exhibit is necessary so that the landlord knows exactly what portion of its property is leased to the tower company. This exhibit includes items like the size of the leased premises in square feet, utility easement (used if power needs to be drawn from the roadside to the part of your property where the tower actually located) and access easement (how the tower company’s contractors will drive their trucks to the cell site).
Pro tip: do not sign a lease with a hand drawn exhibit describing the leased premises.
2) Description of your property. This exhibit contains a description of your entire property, and should also include where the ‘lease premises’ are located on your property. Why is this important? Clarifying the exact location of the leased premises as it relates to the rest of your property will remove potential for future disputes over location.
3) Property tax increases. The point of this exhibit is simple: your tenant must pay for all property tax increases on your property that are associated with the tower. Put another way, the landlord (you!) should not have to pay a dime of tax increases on your property simply because there is now a cell tower located on it.
4) An example memorandum of lease. Your lease agreement and the exhibits are private agreements between the landlord and tenant. A memorandum of lease is a document that is recorded in your property’s chain of title in your county’s real estate records office. This is a public document and many times the tower companies require that they have the ability to record a memorandum of lease.
Pro tip: while it may seem ‘simple,’ it’s extremely important to review the terms of the memo of lease to make certain they are consistent with the final terms of your lease.
We help our clients understand what all of these exhibits mean as part of the larger impact and benefits for having a cell site lease on their property.
Please call us if you’d like to discuss your current lease or proposed new lease – we’d like to discuss how we can help add value to your lease’s financial terms and ensure all of your interests are protected.