A lease provision that grants a landlord the right to terminate a current lease, and take back possession to specific space or tenant suite. To take effect, there is typically a negotiated triggering event that has to occur. This includes a tenant “going dark” or failing to meet its percentage rent terms. Although common in commercial real estate leases, recapture clauses can be included in any contract in which an asset is exchanged.
For example, say Sarah owns XYZ Retail Center. The space is currently leased to Yummy Grocery, with a stated rent of 2% of its sales for a minimum of $2,000. Meaning, Yummy Grocery has to have sales of $100,000 to meet its rent obligation.
The next month, Yummy Grocery only does $80,000 in sales. Because Sarah negotiated a recapture clause in the lease, she may be able to terminate the lease and take back the space from Yummy and potentially replace it with a different tenant.
