An attornment clause requires the tenant to recognize and "attorn to" a new owner of the property — typically a lender who has foreclosed on the landlord's mortgage — as the new landlord under the existing lease. In essence, the tenant agrees in advance to continue paying rent to whoever takes title to the property, including a foreclosing lender or purchaser at a foreclosure sale.
By Angel Campa, Founder · Updated March 2026
Attornment provisions ensure continuity of the landlord-tenant relationship during property ownership transitions and are a standard requirement of commercial lenders. Without an attornment obligation, a tenant could theoretically argue that the original lease terminated when the original landlord lost the property, providing an exit from an unfavorable lease. From the tenant's perspective, the important counterbalance to the attornment obligation is the non-disturbance agreement: the tenant agrees to attorn to the new owner, and in exchange, the new owner agrees not to disturb the tenant's possession.
Ensure the attornment obligation is expressly conditioned on the new owner's delivery of a non-disturbance agreement — do not agree to unconditional attornment without corresponding non-disturbance protection. Include language requiring the new owner to honor all landlord obligations accrued before the ownership transfer, including outstanding tenant improvement allowances, security deposit return obligations, and cure obligations for pre-existing defaults. Negotiate explicit acknowledgment that rent paid to the prior landlord in good faith before notice of transfer is not subject to re-payment.
Automatic attornment (most lender-favorable, no condition precedent), conditioned attornment (requires non-disturbance as condition), court-mandated attornment where the law already requires it, and attornment limited to successors by foreclosure.
Lextract extracts these fields directly from your lease PDF when this clause is present:
Subordination Clause
A subordination clause provides that the tenant's leasehold interest is subordinate — lower in priority — to the rights of the landlord's lender.
Non-Disturbance Clause
A non-disturbance clause is a promise by the landlord's lender that, in the event of foreclosure on the property, the lender will not disturb the tenant's possession and will allow the lease to remain in force — provided the tenant is not in default.
Assignment and Consent Clause
An assignment and consent clause governs the tenant's ability to transfer its entire leasehold interest to a third party (assignee) who then becomes the new tenant under the lease.
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