Do I Need to Keep Old Lease Agreements?

In an age where digital documents and electronic records dominate, there is still ample debate as to whether it is necessary to retain hard copies of legal documents after a certain period of time. The question of whether retaining old lease agreements is an issue of law, or an issue of history, is a common debate amongst commercial real estate developers and educators alike. Not only do old leases provide insight on the commercial climate of any point in the past one hundred years, but the actual physical lease can provide a view into how these socio-economic conditions were expressed in an educational environment.

There are many reasons as to why one might wonder, “do I need to keep old lease agreements?” For many tenants and residential owners, physically keeping a copy of old leases may seem pointless after the lease has expired. But if you are a commercial real estate developer, or a pedagogue in an institution of higher learning, keeping a copy of old lease agreements may prove to be quite useful. For this reason, many prefer to keep hard copies of the document, although it is not done with the aim to protect oneself against a tenant’s claim. This is more so done to protect the institutional investors that ultimately own the space.

Old lease agreements are a wonderful resource to conduct research on the past one hundred years. Being able to visit the space, and to understand the uses of such a property, can provide insight on how the socio-economic climate has changed, and how these changes are expressed in the environment of a school, or a commercial business. For example, many of the universities located in the downtown core of Toronto have already relocated. Further, many of the commercial business previously located on the Queen street car line, have now moved to the financial district. The change in location of these businesses did not happen overnight. It is a result of one hundred years of socio-economic circumstances derived from the use of property by the tenants.

The physical document of an old lease agreement, or even a lease amendment, can provide insight into the locations of the properties in respect to public transit, commercial availability for the business, length of the term of the lease, and the increase, or decrease, in rent. All of these factors contribute to the commercial experience of the user. The changes in socio-economic climate of a Toronto based university, one that has experienced a rich and vibrant ‘historical’ past based on academics, can provide insight into the progress of higher learning. The conditions of the commercialization of a university can be explored through the five senses as a result of the partnership between law and pedagogy.

One way to consider the commercial condition of an academic institution is to consider the infrastructure of the school, and its location along the public transportation lines. For example, the University of Toronto previously occupied a main campus and an auxiliary campus along the downtown area of Toronto. Previously the downtown core was connected by streetcars and rail lines were used to transport people and goods. The public transportation system promoted a greater influx of individuals to the downtown core, making commercial real estate desirable for developers. These transportation lines provided a great connection to the provincial capital, facilitating a boom in business and users to the area.

However, as the businesses increased, and the demand for real estate increased, conditions changed for the commercial business owners and the educational institutions. Over the period of one hundred years, courts have held strict to the meaning of a lease and how it should be administered. Although much of the law has been codified, after a lease has been fully performed, what remains is the way in which a property owner can use a leased property. The conditions in the lease provided a useful indication of the climate of the time in relation to real estate, but week by week, year by year, the conditions changed. While it took one hundred years to be at economic parity with another city in Canada, looking back on a single lease agreement can provide insight as to why the institutional locations moved, or why they remained within the same neighbourhood, and how the historical past influences the present. According to the in depth guide on comprehensive old lease agreements, understanding these documents can be crucial for both historical and legal perspectives.