In the post-COVID world, retail leases will need to change andadapt. Several provisions will need to be changed and added toaccount for the possibility of a pandemic and the mandatedshuttering of businesses. This includes adjustments to forcemajeure and insurance provisions as well as use of common areas,common area caps, alterations, and rules and regulations, all ofwhich should be adjusted to reflect the new market.

"These modifications will likely put landlords in a betterposition to respond and react to the new normal that will existuntil a vaccine is developed and widely distributed," DanVillalpando, a partner at Cox, Castle &Nicholson, tells GlobeSt.com.

In regards to the common areas, most leases are currently toobroad to account for usage and social distancing. This is one ofthe first areas that will need to be addressed in leases."Landlords should make sure that the language in the Control ofCommon Area provision found in most leases is broad enough forlandlords to respond and adapt to pandemics and similaremergencies, such as by installing items to improve health andsafety conditions and making other, perhaps currentlyunforeseeable, changes to the common area to comply withrecommendations or requirements of the Center for Disease Controland Prevention, World Health Organization, or state or localauthorities," says Villalpando.