Gross lease
The landlord typically handles roof repair and replacement and builds it into the rent. The tenant reports leaks fast and keeps people off the roof.
Property management roofingRoof Responsibility, at a glance
In St. Louis commercial leases, roof responsibility follows the lease type. Under a gross lease the landlord usually owns repair and replacement. Under a triple-net lease, tenants often pay routine repairs and maintenance, directly or through CAM charges, while the landlord keeps the structure and replacement — but the language varies and the lease controls. John Beal Roofing doesn’t interpret leases. We document the roof and the cause of a leak so both sides can settle it. Free inspections. Call (314) 429-6000.
A leak in a strip center doesn’t care whose name is on the lease. Water hits the nail salon’s ceiling at 11 p.m., the tenant calls the property manager, the manager calls the owner, and by morning everybody’s arguing about the maintenance section while the ceiling tiles sag.
We get pulled into a lot of those conversations around St. Louis — Olive Boulevard retail, South County office parks, flex space in Earth City. We aren’t lawyers and we don’t pretend to be. What we can do is tell everyone exactly what failed, why it failed and what it’ll cost to fix, in writing, with photos.
Who Usually Pays
How Common Lease Types Split The Roof
Triple-net (NNN)
The tenant often pays maintenance and minor repairs. Replacement and deck work frequently stay with the landlord. The capital-expense clause is the one to read twice.
Roof capital planningMulti-tenant CAM
Costs on a shared roof get pooled and split by square footage. Tenants push back when replacement shows up in CAM, so a written condition report helps everybody.
Retail roofingTenant equipment
A restaurant hood fan or a tenant’s added unit usually makes that curb the tenant’s problem. We see plenty of leaks at curbs a tenant’s HVAC contractor cut in.
HVAC curb leaksTenant-caused damage
Satellite installers, sign crews and HVAC techs puncture membranes. Most leases put that on the tenant, and dated photos are what settle it.
Leak detectionWarranty conditions
Manufacturer warranties can be voided when an unauthorized contractor cuts into the roof. Owners should require tenants to use the warranting roofer for any penetration.
Warranty guide
What We Provide
Documentation Both Sides Can Use
When we’re called to a leak on a leased building, the first job is stopping the water. A live dispatcher answers 24/7 and a crew gets the area dried in. Who pays gets sorted out after the ceiling stops dripping.
Then we write it up. Date, time and weather, the exact spot that failed, photos of the cause and of the interior damage, and whether it’s age, wear, storm or something somebody did. A box-knife cut looks nothing like a seam that let go after twenty summers.
On buildings with a lot of tenants, a baseline inspection at lease signing heads off fights later. We photograph the roof, note existing patches and wet areas, and you drop the report in the lease file. At move-out, compare.
Owners who want fewer disputes put the roof on a maintenance plan with one contractor. Two visits a year, one after spring hail season and one before winter, with a report to the manager. Small stuff gets fixed before it turns into a lease argument.
Common Questions
Who’s responsible for roof repairs under a triple-net lease in Missouri?
It depends on the lease language. Many NNN leases put routine maintenance and repairs on the tenant and keep replacement with the landlord, but plenty don’t. Your lease and your attorney decide; we document the roof.
Can a tenant hire their own roofer?
Only if the lease allows it, and it’s risky for the owner. An uncertified contractor cutting into a warranted roof can void the manufacturer warranty, so most owners require tenants to use the roofer of record.
Can you tell whether a leak was caused by the tenant?
Often, yes. Punctures, unsealed equipment penetrations and dragged-equipment damage look different from age-related seam or flashing failure. We photograph and describe what we find and let the parties decide.
Who should call you when the roof’s leaking?
Whoever’s closest to the water. We respond and dry it in, then bill whoever the owner or manager tells us to bill.
Do you inspect at lease signing or move-out?
Yes, and the inspection is free. You get a dated written report with photos for the lease file.
Free Leased Building Roof Inspection
Owner, manager or tenant — tell us about the building and a dispatcher will call.