Green Leases Could Help Building Owners Avoid Billions In Fines, But Hurdles Remain Building owners across the country are increasingly subject to state and local regulations that require them to improve the sustainability of their properties or face sometimes hefty fines. But when it comes to paying for those improvements, especially in offices with elevated vacancy rates stemming from reduced tenant usage, the question of who pays what can get sticky. After all, tenants are the ones who control energy usage and are likely to reap the savings from green upgrades, at least under a common triple-net lease structure. But it’s landlords that front the cost of the improvements. 
“Traditional leases have what we call a split-incentive challenge,” said Stephanie Greene, CBRE managing director of sustainability solutions. “So they don’t usually address sustainability or zero-carbon measures like energy-efficiency in the lease, and then what that means is that neither the tenant nor the landlord are really… Read the full story here. | 
