Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

This is not a legal question so much as a practical business question. The question is, will the landlord go for the deal you described. It's anybody's guess. If you propose a deal that is in the landlord's interest, and the landlord is not some brainless corporate bureaucracy, they should go for it. Since these are troubled times and many commercial landlords are begging for tenants, the type of option agreement you describe should be very attractive. Even if this landlord doesn't go for your proposed deal, probably you will still be able to find additional space as your chain expands.

I agree with Mr. Stone that the question is not so much what the landlord is legally able to do or refuse to do as it is a matter of whether you and the landlord can agree on the terms, especially the pricing of the options.

Further, I think whether an owner of several shopping malls is likely to be much interested in your proposal will depend upon your financing, experience and business credibility, and to some extent on whether your proposed business or product line is unique or whether it is likely to conflict with that of other existing and likely future tenants.

Just to clearly answer your question, since the previous two have not: the type of agreement you are talking about is an option contract. You can pretty much agree to whatever option terms you and the landlord want.