Your lease is usually the largest fixed cost you carry and the one you have the least room to change once it is signed. It also decides more than rent. Whether you can sublet, whether you can sell the business with the location attached, whether a landlord can move you for a remodel, and whether a rent increase three years out is a number you can see today or a surprise you cannot.

The good news is that renewal is the one moment when you have real leverage. An empty storefront costs a landlord months of rent plus the cost of finding someone new. A tenant who pays on time and has been there for years is worth keeping, and most landlords know it. Going into that conversation prepared is what turns a renewal from something that happens to you into something you negotiate.

• Your current lease, including every amendment. Find the expiration date and any option to extend
• The notice deadline for exercising an option. These are strict and missing one can cost you the option entirely
• Your total occupancy cost, not just base rent. Add common area charges, taxes, insurance, utilities, and any percentage rent
• Your revenue for the last twelve months, so you can work out occupancy cost as a share of sales
• What comparable space nearby is actually asking per square foot right now
• What it would cost you to move. Build out, downtime, signage, and the customers who would not follow you