Tenant Representation Across the DMV

Tenant representation means having a broker whose only client in the deal is you. Levaru provides tenant representation across Washington DC, Northern Virginia, and Maryland for office, medical, retail, and industrial users, from single-suite requirements to multi-floor headquarters. The landlord has a broker working its side of every lease. This service exists so you have the same thing, and in most deals it costs you nothing directly.

We come at it as operators as well as brokers. Levaru maintains and manages commercial buildings daily, so when we tour space with you, we are also reading the HVAC, the ceiling condition, and what the operating expense pass-throughs will actually do to your rent. That is context most tenants never get until after they sign.

Does it cost a tenant anything to use a tenant rep broker?

In most commercial lease transactions, no. The landlord pays a leasing commission under its listing agreement, and the market convention in the DMV, as in most US markets, is that the commission is split between the landlord’s broker and the tenant’s broker.

Market convention in commercial leasing: the landlord pays the commission, and it is split with the tenant’s broker. A tenant who arrives unrepresented usually does not save that money; the fee simply stays on the landlord’s side of the table.

So the practical question is not whether you can afford representation. It is whether you want the only broker in your deal to be the one who works for your landlord. We put our compensation terms in writing in our engagement letter, before the first tour, so there is nothing to reconstruct later.

How our tenant representation process works

Requirement definition

We start with a working session on headcount, growth, layout, parking, budget, and timing, and turn it into a written requirement. Every building we consider afterward is measured against that document, which keeps the search honest when an attractive but wrong space shows up.

Market survey

We survey the full market against your requirement: on-market availabilities, comparable lease terms, and, where useful, buildings worth a quiet inquiry. You see the whole field with our notes on each option, not a pre-trimmed list.

Tours, in person and remote

We shortlist and tour. For stakeholders who cannot travel, options can be documented with browser-based 3D walkthroughs, so a partner in another market walks the floor from a shareable link the same week. Tour books capture photos, floor plans, and terms for every option so comparisons stay factual weeks later.

RFPs to shortlisted buildings

For the finalists, we issue a request for proposal covering rate, escalations, free rent, improvement allowance, delivery condition, options, and expense structure. Competing landlords respond in the same format, which is exactly what makes their numbers comparable, and what makes them sharpen those numbers.

LOI negotiation

We negotiate the letter of intent, modeling every counter as effective rent over the term so you are comparing deals on one number instead of trading headline rates. The LOI is where the economics get decided; the lease mostly memorializes them.

Test fits and TI negotiation

Before you commit, an architect’s test fit proves your program fits the floor. We then negotiate the improvement package, including allowance amount, delivery condition, and who manages construction, alongside our tenant improvements team, which prices buildout as builders rather than as guessers.

Lease review support

Your attorney handles legal terms; we work beside them on the business terms that hide in lease language: operating expense definitions and caps, after-hours HVAC charges, restoration obligations, assignment rights, renewal and expansion options. This is where our operating background pays for itself, because we manage buildings under these exact clauses.

Move coordination

We coordinate the transition, including vendor scheduling, landlord obligations, and punch list, so day one in the new space is a workday, not a scramble.

Renewal versus relocate: where your leverage comes from

Your landlord prices your renewal against one estimate: the probability you will actually move. If staying looks certain, the first renewal proposal reflects that.

Running a real relocation process, with a market survey, tours, and RFPs to genuine alternatives, changes that estimate. Sometimes the market shows you a better building and you move. Just as often, your current landlord returns with the rate reduction, the refreshed improvement allowance, or the flexibility that was not on the table before. Either way, you decide from evidence rather than inertia, and the work typically costs you nothing out of pocket because of how commissions are paid.

Start earlier than feels necessary. Leverage decays as your expiration approaches, because a credible relocation needs time for construction, permits, and notice periods. The strongest position a tenant ever holds is having a real alternative and enough calendar left to use it.

One firm from search to signed lease

Tenant representation is one part of Levaru’s real estate services practice, alongside landlord representation, investment sales, and market research, and it connects to the rest of what we do. The team that helps you pick the building can also plan the buildout and, if you want, run the facility after you move in.

If your lease expires in the next couple of years, or your space stopped fitting some time ago, the conversation is worth having now. Request a proposal or call +1 (703) 646-8300 and we will start with your requirement, not with listings.