Structuring Rooftop Lease Agreements: Legal and Business - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Presenting a live 90 minute webinar with interactive Q&A Structuring Rooftop Lease Agreements: Legal and Business Considerations Negotiating Leases for Telecom Equipment, Solar Energy, Commercial Farming, and More Wednesday, January 7, 2015 1pm Eastern | 12pm Central | 11am Mountain | 10am Pacific Today’s faculty features: Stephen A. Kisker, Member, Wolff & Samson , West Orange, N.J. Hugh D. Odom, Founder & President, Vertical Consultants , Nashville, Tenn. The audio portion of the conference may be accessed via the telephone or by using your computer's speakers. Please refer to the instructions emailed to registrants for additional information. If you have any questions, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-926-7926 ext. 10 .

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Str tructuring ucturing Ro Roof oftop top Le Leas ase e Ag Agreements: reements: Le Lega gal l an and d Bus usiness iness Co Cons nsiderations iderations Presented by Stephen A. Kisker, Esq. skisker@wolffsamson.com January 7, 2015

Rooftop Lease Applications and Current Trends in Rooftop Leasing  Types of rooftop leases  Cell towers and other communication equipment  PCS, broadband, FM and TV 6

Types of Rooftop Leases (cont’d)  Solar panels and micro wind turbines  On-site consumption or grid feed  Distributed generation of clean, renewable energy 7

Types of Rooftop Leases (cont’d)  Solar panels and micro wind turbines (cont’d)  United States now 5 th in the world in installed solar capacity  United States has over 16,000 MW of solar capacity, which is enough to power more than 3.5 million homes  The US solar industry now employs more than 150,000 people fulltime nationwide  Micro wind turbines are small, lightweight and can be made of plastic 8

Types of Rooftop Leases (cont’d)  Rooftop farms  Distributed generation of high quality produce in urban areas  Rainwater recapture and reuse  Decrease heat gain – Lower heat loss  Vancouver, New York and Philadelphia  Rooftop bars and restaurants 9

Types of Rooftop Leases (cont’d)  Rooftop Oasis 10

Current Trends  Site / lease buyouts  Lump sum up-front payment for existing leases and/or locations  Developing secondary market  Options to lease  Small income stream reserving rights to lease in the future  Allows company to “lock up” territory 11

Current Trends (cont’d)  Rooftop management companies  Solar, Solar, Solar 12

Benefits of a Rooftop Lease  Income – either up front or over time  Benefits of the use itself  Roof repairs and/or maintenance at little or no up-front cost  Increase value of remainder of building 13

Detriments to a Rooftop Lease  Forgo future opportunities for easy cash up front  Roof repair and maintenance  Loss of flexibility (casualty, condemnation, financing, sale, redevelopment, expansion)  Frequently requires use of more than just the roof (staging areas, utility easements, parking, access, data rooms, inverter pads and cable runs)  Structural issues 14

Deal Structures Simple Single Lease  Benefits  Monetize your roof with lump sum up-front payment or periodic rent payment  Condition lease on roof repairs or upgrades up front and/or place burden of roof maintenance on tenant  Little effort for building owner  Detriments  Sacrifice future opportunities  Roof leaks / maintenance issues  Redevelopment / sale / reconstruction restrictions or complications  May not maximize value of entire roof  Financing 15

Deal Structures (cont’d) Multiple Leases for One Roof  Benefits  Opportunity to maximize value of roof  Monetize your roof with lump sum up-front payment or periodic rent payment  Condition lease on roof repairs or upgrades up front and/or place burden of roof maintenance on tenant  Detriments  Coordination of and interference by multiple tenants  Maintenance/repair obligations and disputes – who caused that leak?!?  Much more effort to put together and manage  Multiple seats at negotiating table upon sale, redevelopment or major reconstruction 16

Deal Structures (cont’d) Buyout of Existing Leases and Location  Benefits  Monetize future income stream now  Eliminates future management/administrative burden  Removes the risk of payment defaults  Detriments  Long term agreements that are very difficult to terminate  Sacrifice future opportunities  Greater redevelopment / sale / reconstruction restrictions or complications  May not maximize value of entire roof  Frowned upon by lenders 17

Deal Structures (cont’d) Option to Lease  Benefits  “Free” money  Very little effort and limited obligations  Detriments  Loss of future opportunity  Disputes and litigation 18

Rooftop Lease, License or Easement Lease  Benefits  An estate in land that provides the tenant with greater protection and an alternative financing method (leasehold mortgage)  If properly perfected it can be binding on future property owners  In some states it offers landlord protection from construction liens filed by a tenant’s contractor  Detriments  Frequently more difficult to terminate and regain possession  Subject to state and municipal lease formalities and tenant protection measures such as a duty to mitigate damages and statute of frauds  Frequently requires lender approval 19

Rooftop Lease, License or Easement (cont’d) License  Benefits  Not an estate in land but rather a right in contract  Frequently easier to terminate and regain possession  Not subject to state and municipal lease formalities and tenant protection measures such as a duty to mitigate damages and statute of frauds  Does not always require lender approval  Detriments  May subject owner’s property to construction lien resulting from licensee’s non -payment for licensee improvements  May not be sufficient protection to get the deal done 20

Rooftop Lease, License or Easement (cont’d) Easement  Benefits  An interest in land that provides the holder with greater protection  Not an executory contract subject to termination in bankruptcy  Runs with the land  Not subject to state and municipal lease formalities and tenant protection measures such as a duty to mitigate damages  Detriments  Difficult to terminate and regain possession  Not easily financeable  Unorthodox  May be subject to technical state formalities applicable to estates in land, such as the statute of frauds  Almost always requires lender approval 21

Practical Considerations in Structuring a Solar Rooftop Deal  Roof warranty  Roof leaks / maintenance issues  Casualty and condemnation  Staging and parking  Term  Bonds, guarantees or other security 22

Practical Considerations in Structuring a Solar Rooftop Deal (cont’d)  Insurance  End of term obligations  Termination rights  Indemnities  Sale of host property  Taxes  Assignment 23

Financing Considerations for Solar Rooftop Deals  Subordination, Non-Disturbance and Recognition Agreements  What is the lender’s collateral?  Timelines 24