Current Issues in Cell Tower Leases

Understand the terms of your cell tower lease and avoid provisions that harm property values and the future use of the property.

Get answers to the two most frequent cell lease questions: What is the going rental rate for cell leases -- particularly the thousands of leases coming up for renewal? Why 5G cell service is not affecting rents or sales prices, and what terms should you avoid in your cell tower lease that harm property values and the future use of the property?

This program provides the A-to-Z basics of cell tower leases and lease sales and is taught by two faculty members with decades of experience representing property owners on cell tower leases and sales. It covers entering into a lease, renewing a lease, and selling a lease while em-phasizing rents, sales prices, terms, and in particular, avoiding provisions that harm property values and the future use of the property. The program will help property owners and attorneys, who only occasionally deal with cell leases, better negotiate with wireless industry personnel who work on leases every day. It starts by covering key business issues in cell site leases, initial rents, average rents, and rent increases possible at renewals, avoiding clauses that interfere with the normal use of the property, and why 5G service should have little impact on the preceding. Why leases for antennas on buildings are more complicated, requiring special provisions. After covering more conventional lease terms, the program addresses the sale of cell leases and fu-ture leasing rights. This program includes typical sale prices (currently around 20 times annual rents), when to sell and when not to sell, and how to get the best price and terms in a sale. It emphasizes avoiding sales terms that the presenters have seen destroy property value by pre-venting its normal use and development. For municipalities, the topic addresses additional key items in cell leases and lease sales that are unique to them. For all wireless landlords, the materi-al covers such topics as lease terms and terminations, access requirements, radio frequency interference, design and camouflage, and radio frequency emissions safety. This topic is par-ticularly important for commercial landlords, developers, and the like, who often own attractive sites for cell leases but are most at risk from a poor lease or sales terms harming the value of the property with the lease.

Faculty

John W. Pestle, Esq.

Varnum LLP

Jonathan L. Kramer, Esq.

Telecom Law Firm, P.C.