Chapter 4 - § 4.1 • DEFINING THE PREMISES

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 4.1 • DEFINING THE PREMISES

Depending upon the type of lease, the premises will most commonly consist of one of the following: (1) land; (2) one or more buildings; (3) land and one or more buildings; or (4) space within a building. Leases of land or land and buildings are typically called "land leases" or "ground leases," leases of buildings are sometimes called "building leases," and leases of space within a building are typically "space leases."

In a ground lease, the premises usually are defined with a legal description of the land, in the same manner as in a deed. This will be either a "metes and bounds" description created by a surveyor,¹ or a "lot and block" description referring to a recorded subdivision plat.²

In a lease of a building (with or without the land), it is best to define the premises with reference to the legal description of the land and building. It is not uncommon, however, to simply refer to the building (and, if included, the land) with a street address. The street address is adequate unless the property identified by that street address does not include the entirety of the premises or if the property includes land that is not part of the premises. If a street address is used, it is wise to check whether the real estate at that address is a single tax parcel in the records of the assessor of the county (or in the case of Broomfield and Denver, the city and county) in which the property is located.³ The goal is clarity without ambiguity about what the premises are, and it is best to err on the side of providing more information than necessary.

In a space lease, the space generally is defined by a suite or unit number or, if the premises include the whole floor, the floor number. A suite or unit number has no meaning by itself, so the lease should further describe the premises in words or, better yet, by a drawing attached as an exhibit to the lease. In space leases, the building in which the premises are located is also usually described, and if the building is described, the land on which the building sits is also usually described, often by its formal legal description.

It is typical, and very helpful, to have an exhibit to the lease depicting the premises. Depictions are more common in space leases than in ground leases or leases for a building (with...