Funding Path Guide
How to Write a Business Plan for a Commercial Lease Application
A business plan that wins the space. The landlord deck commercial landlords ask for: who you are, why the location works, and the proof you can pay rent for the full term.
Can you
pay rent for the term?
Landlord / broker
Reviewer
Rent coverage
Core Proof
Personal guaranty
Often Required
Landlord deck
Also Called
Free interview and draft plan. No credit card required.
Reviewer Criteria
What Commercial Landlords Look For
Proof you can pay rent for the whole term
A landlord signing a five-year lease is underwriting five years of rent. Show projected sales, the rent-to-revenue ratio, and the cushion that keeps rent covered through a slow opening period.
A concept that fits the space and the trade area
Landlords protect their tenant mix and foot traffic. Explain why your concept suits this specific location, its demographics, and the other tenants, not just any storefront.
Operator credibility and a personal guaranty
Most commercial leases require a personal guaranty, so the landlord is assessing you. Lead with relevant experience, financial standing, and why you are a low-risk tenant who will still be operating in year three.
A realistic build-out and opening timeline
Landlords want to know when rent starts and what improvements you need. Lay out the build-out scope, any tenant-improvement (TI) allowance you are requesting, and the path to opening.
Sales-per-square-foot that justify the rent
Frame your projected revenue against the leased square footage and the asking rent. Showing healthy sales per square foot is the fastest way a landlord sees the rent as comfortably affordable.
Plan Preview
What a PlanMason Commercial Lease Plan Looks Like
Rent Affordability & Tenant Profile
GENERATED BY PLANMASONThe 1,850-square-foot suite at $34 per square foot carries annual base rent of $62,900, or $5,242 per month. Projected stabilized revenue of $612,000 places occupancy cost at 10.3% of sales, within the 8–12% range healthy for a fast-casual concept. Even at a conservative 70% of projected year-one revenue during ramp-up, rent coverage holds at 1.9 times, and the lease is personally guaranteed by the principal, who has operated two profitable locations since 2019.
Avoid These
Common Mistakes in Commercial Lease Plans
Treating it like a loan plan
A landlord cares about rent coverage and tenant quality, not debt service or an SBA structure. Lead with the rent math and who you are, not a capital stack.
Ignoring the location’s trade area
A generic concept summary with no demographics or fit-to-location reasoning signals you have not done the homework the landlord has.
Underselling the operator
Because the lease is usually personally guaranteed, a thin or missing operator background is a red flag. Your credibility is half the decision.
The Process
How PlanMason Builds Your Commercial Lease Plan
The Space & The Fit
PlanMason captures the suite, the rent, the trade area, and why your concept fits this location and tenant mix, the case a landlord weighs first.
You As The Tenant
Walk through your operating background and financial standing. The interview builds the operator-credibility case that supports the personal guaranty.
Rent Coverage
The calculator frames projected sales against the rent and square footage, showing occupancy cost and the coverage cushion through ramp-up.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1What is a business plan for a commercial lease application?
It is a focused plan, sometimes called a "landlord deck," that a commercial landlord or leasing broker asks for before approving a tenant. Its job is narrow and specific: prove you can pay rent for the full lease term, show your concept fits the space and trade area, and establish that you are a credible operator, usually one willing to personally guarantee the lease. It is shorter and more rent-focused than a loan business plan.
Q2How is this different from a business plan for a loan?
A loan plan persuades an underwriter you can service debt; a lease plan persuades a landlord you can pay rent and will be a stable, on-brand tenant. The lease version centers on rent-to-revenue ratio, sales per square foot, occupancy cost, fit to the location, and your personal guaranty, rather than DSCR, collateral, or a use-of-proceeds table. The audience and the core question are different, so the emphasis is different.
Q3What is a landlord deck and do I need one?
A landlord deck is the short, persuasive package landlords increasingly request from prospective tenants, especially for retail, restaurant, and competitive spaces. It typically covers your concept, your operating experience, your financials, and why you fit the property. If a landlord or broker has asked for "your business plan" or "more about your business" as part of a lease application, a landlord deck is what they want, and a tailored one can be the difference in a competitive space.
Q4Why does the landlord want my personal financial information?
Because most commercial leases require a personal guaranty, meaning you are personally responsible for the rent if the business cannot pay. That makes the landlord, in effect, an underwriter of you. A strong lease plan gets ahead of this by presenting your operating track record and financial standing up front, framing you as a low-risk tenant rather than waiting to be asked.
Q5How do I show I can afford the rent?
Tie projected revenue to the rent and the square footage. Show the occupancy cost as a percentage of sales (a healthy range is often 6–12% depending on the business type), the sales per square foot, and the rent coverage even at a conservative fraction of year-one projections during ramp-up. Demonstrating that rent stays comfortably covered through a slow opening is exactly the cushion a landlord is looking for.
Industry Guides
Start Your Commercial Lease Business Plan
This is deep work, not a form. Plan a few sittings. Walk away with a plan commercial landlords take seriously.
Free interview and draft plan. Full Lender Packet from $49.
Start Building