Twenty-one free warehouse lease agreement templates in Microsoft Word, for industrial and storage premises. Below the downloads is the part that costs real money if you get it wrong: how the rent is structured, and the physical specifications to verify before you sign.
General information, not legal advice. Commercial property law differs by country and state, and industrial leases typically run for years with substantial sums attached. These are generic drafts. Have a lawyer, and ideally a commercial property agent, review the lease and the premises before you commit.
Templates21 versions
FormatMicrosoft Word
Opens inWord, Google Docs, LibreOffice
CostFree, no signup
Find out how the rent is structured first
Two warehouses advertised at the same rent per square foot can cost very different amounts to occupy. The structure, not the headline figure, decides what you actually pay.
Structure
What you pay
Gross, or full service
One rent covering everything. The landlord carries taxes, insurance and maintenance. Simplest to budget, and usually priced higher to reflect that.
Triple net, often written NNN
Base rent plus property taxes, building insurance and maintenance, charged on top. Common for industrial property. The headline rent can look attractive while the real cost is meaningfully higher.
Modified gross
Somewhere between the two, with the split negotiated. Read exactly which costs sit where — the term means different things in different deals.
Percentage
Base rent plus a share of turnover. Rare for pure warehousing, more common where there is a retail element.
If you are offered a triple net lease, ask for the current annual figures for taxes, insurance and common area maintenance before you compare it with anything else. Ask too whether those costs are capped and how increases are passed on, because an uncapped maintenance charge on an ageing building is an open-ended commitment.
The templates
Twenty-one versions, from short agreements for small storage units to longer industrial leases with service charge schedules and repair obligations.
The physical specifications that decide whether the space works
This is where warehouse leases differ from office ones, and where a template cannot help you. A unit can be the right size and the right price and still be unusable for your operation. Get these in writing before signing, and verify them on site rather than taking the particulars at face value.
Clear height. Not the height to the roof — the usable height to the lowest obstruction, which may be a sprinkler head, a light fitting or a joist. This governs how high you can rack, and therefore how much you can actually store. Older units are often far lower than modern distribution buildings.
Floor load capacity. Expressed in pounds or kilograms per square foot or square metre. Ask for the figure and give it to your racking supplier. Loaded pallet racking concentrates very heavy loads on small footprints, and an inadequate slab is not something you can negotiate around later.
Loading doors. How many, and of which type. Dock-high doors suit articulated lorries; grade-level or drive-in doors suit vans and smaller vehicles. Check whether dock levellers and shelters are included and who maintains them.
Truck court and access. The yard depth in front of the doors determines whether a large vehicle can manoeuvre. Check the approach road, any height restrictions, and whether the yard is shared with other occupiers.
Power supply. Available amperage and whether three-phase power is present. Machinery, chargers for electric forklifts and refrigeration all depend on it, and upgrading an incoming supply is slow and expensive.
Fire suppression. The sprinkler system’s classification affects what you may store, how high you may stack it, and what your insurer will charge. If you handle anything flammable or stack to height, raise this early.
Column spacing. The grid of structural columns dictates how racking and aisles can be laid out. A wide-span building is worth more to a busy operation than its square footage suggests.
Permitted use and zoning. Confirm your actual activity is permitted, not just “warehousing” in the abstract. Light manufacturing, food handling, hazardous goods and trade counter sales often need specific permissions.
What the agreement needs to cover
The parties and the premises — full legal names, and the unit defined by plan and measured area, with the measurement basis stated.
Term — start and end dates, any break clauses, and renewal rights.
Rent and escalation — the amount, when it rises, and by what mechanism. A fixed percentage and an index-linked increase behave very differently over a ten-year term.
What sits outside the rent — taxes, insurance, service charge, utilities, waste. Itemised, not implied.
Repair and maintenance — the single biggest cost risk in an industrial lease. Be clear on who is responsible for the roof, the structure, the yard surface, the loading equipment and the heating. A full repairing obligation on an older building can be ruinous.
Condition at handover — a photographic schedule of condition, agreed by both sides, protects you at the end of the term.
Alterations — whether you can install racking, mezzanines or offices, and what consents are needed.
Reinstatement — what you must remove or restore when you leave. Mezzanines and racking bolted to the slab are the usual arguments.
Insurance — what each side carries, and who insures the building.
Assignment and subletting — whether you can pass the space on. Our sublease templates cover that arrangement.
Deposit and guarantees — how much, and whether a personal or parent company guarantee is required.
Working through it
Visit with your operation in mind
Walk it with whoever runs your warehousing, not only whoever signs the cheques. Measure the clear height yourself at the lowest point, and watch a vehicle turn in the yard if you can.
Get the running costs in writing
Last year’s actual service charge, taxes and insurance figures, not estimates. Ask what has been spent on the roof and the yard recently, and what is scheduled.
Draft from a template, then negotiate
Use one of these as the starting structure. Repair obligations, break clauses and escalation mechanisms are all negotiable, and the first draft a landlord circulates is written for the landlord.
Record the condition on the day
Photograph everything before you move a pallet in, including the yard, the doors and the roof where you can see it. Record meter readings. Attach the schedule to the lease and have both sides sign it.
Common questions
What does triple net actually mean?
You pay base rent plus the three “nets” — property taxes, building insurance and maintenance. Always ask for the current figures for all three before comparing a triple net quote with a gross one.
How long are warehouse leases usually?
Longer than office leases, often three to ten years, because fitting out industrial space is expensive for both sides. Break clauses are the usual way to retain flexibility within a long term.
Can I install racking or a mezzanine?
Usually with the landlord’s consent, and often with an obligation to remove it at the end. Settle both the consent and the reinstatement position before signing, not afterwards.
Who repairs the roof?
It depends entirely on the lease, and it matters more than almost any other clause. Industrial roofs are large and expensive, so read the repair obligation carefully and take advice on it.
Do I need Microsoft Word?
No. Upload the file to Google Docs or open it in LibreOffice.
Can I use these commercially?
Yes, for your own leases. You may not resell or redistribute the template files themselves. See our Terms of Use.
