I lease a commercial building for my business. I have extra space I am not using, so I would like to sublease a portion of my unit. Unfortunately my lease says no subleasing without approval from the landlord, and he will not cooperate.
What if instead of subleasing to somebody, I find somebody who wants to pay $800 to buy a bottle of water every month, and in return for buying this water from me, I let them use my building for free? That isn't considered subleasing is it?
I am allowed to do whatever I want in this unit in order for my business to earn profit. (as long as it's legal) That would include selling $800 bottles of water....
It's hard to tell how a judge or jury would decide these issues, if they were ultimately presented with them. Certainly, your landlord would likely consider that subleasing, and thus may opt to pursue rights and remedies provided in your lease, which could include any number of things.
Ultimately, it sounds to me like a reasonable person would find that 1) you have extra space, 2) you wish to sublease it, 3) you can't sublease without breaching your lease, 4) you're now deciding to be crafty and trying to get around the sublease clause, and 5) you're attempting to make a contract with a third party to sublease space, for the price of $800 minus the cost of a bottle of water.
Ultimately, feel free to sell $800 bottles of water all you can, obviously. But be very careful when including related provisions that run counter to your lease, especially that the landlord has already specifically disapproved.
Perhaps there's a way to negotiate with your landlord to obtain written consent; or perhaps there's simply another route to consider which may well accomplish what you're intending. Certainly, however, there's no lawyer that will tell you that the water bottle plan is not considered subleasing, as it likely is.
You should consult with an attorney to review the situation in detail and provide you specific advice on how to proceed.
Also, this is not residential, and thus I'm changing the practice area for your question. I opted for "Business"; in addition, Commercial Real Estate, Contracts and Agreements, and the like are also right on point.
