Tenant representation in Birmingham, AL
A Birmingham tenant rep works for the company leasing office space — not the building owner. Sandner Hennessy, SIOR runs your search, makes landlords compete, and negotiates the lease so the economics and the fine print work for your business.
What a tenant rep does for you
Landlords in Birmingham are represented by listing brokers who know their building’s numbers cold. Without your own representation you negotiate one building at a time, with less information than the other side. A tenant rep levels that field: a full survey of the Birmingham office market, real comparables, a competitive request-for-proposal process, and a negotiator who has seen how landlords underwrite deals.
Sandner’s background is unusual for a broker: before joining Colliers he was a licensed commercial real estate appraiser specializing in Class A office, and he began his career as an accountant at Ernst & Young. That shows up in the analysis — total occupancy cost over the full term, net effective rent, and how concessions really compare across proposals.
Office tenant rep services
Relocations
Market survey of every realistic Birmingham option for your headcount, budget and commute — then tours, proposals and negotiation.
Lease renewals
Benchmark your current rent and concessions against the market and create real alternatives so the landlord competes to keep you.
Expansion & rightsizing
Add space, give back space, or restructure — including expansion rights, contraction options and early-termination strategy.
Subleases
Sublease space when you need to shed excess square footage, or find discounted sublease space when timing and term fit.
Lease negotiation
Base rent, free rent, tenant improvement allowance, escalations, operating-expense caps, parking, signage, and renewal options.
Occupancy cost analysis
Apples-to-apples comparisons of full-service vs. NNN proposals and total cost of occupancy over the full term — not just year-one rent.
The process, step by step
- 1
Define the requirement
Headcount, growth plan, budget, timing, parking, image and must-have submarkets — set before any landlord pitch.
- 2
Survey the Birmingham market
A curated shortlist from the full Birmingham office inventory — direct and sublease — not just the buildings a single landlord wants to fill.
- 3
Tour and request proposals
Tour the shortlist, then issue a request for proposal so landlords compete on economics, concessions and flexibility.
- 4
Negotiate the LOI and lease
Compare proposals on total occupancy cost, negotiate the letter of intent, then protect you in the lease language through signature and move-in.
Our strategy
Leasing Process
Hire Colliers / Launch
Workplace Strategy
- Determine Workplace and Real Estate Strategy
Strategic Planning
- Determine office space area requirement
- Review office space trends
- Assist in comparing building options & leasehold improvement costs, if required
- Review existing space & lease
- Define requirements, including initial area, expansion, term, options, etc.
- Develop long list of alternatives and recommendations
Strategy
- Reconfirm project goals
- Confirm target date
- Establish project timeline
- Develop budget targets
Market Analysis
- Market Overview
- Market Survey
- Match potential facilities w/ established requirements
- Initial comparison of submarkets to include employee benefits & transportation issues
Select Facilities
- Inspection tours
- Architect presentations
- Developer presentations
Refine Selection / Space Planning
- Send tailored RFP to candidate landlords
- Examine responses
- Client space plans for each location
- Estimate construction cost
- Respond to proposals
Negotiation Strategy & Actions
- Reduce alternatives
- Discuss negotiation strategies
- Conduct final financial analysis of proposals
- Prepare comparison analysis of finalists
- Prepare and submit LOI with input from client
Final Negotiations
- Establish final terms & conditions
- Detailed lease negotiations
- Work-letter negotiations
- Execute lease
Planning / Permits / Drawings
- Construction timeline planning
- Budget confirmation
- Submit construction drawings to city
Relocation or Renewal
- Move management
- File management
- IT Installation
Lease terms a tenant rep negotiates
- Base rent & escalations
- Starting rate, annual bumps (fixed % or CPI) and how they compound over the full term.
- Full service vs. NNN
- Whether rent includes operating expenses, taxes and insurance — and what base year or expense stop applies.
- Operating-expense protections
- Caps on controllable expenses, audit rights, and exclusions so you aren’t paying for the landlord’s capital projects.
- Tenant improvement allowance
- Dollars per square foot the landlord contributes to build out your space, who manages construction, and what happens to unused allowance.
- Free rent
- Abatement months and whether they apply to base rent only or to operating expenses as well.
- Parking
- Ratio, reserved vs. unreserved, and whether parking is included or billed monthly — critical downtown.
- Renewal, expansion & termination
- Options that keep flexibility: renewal at market, right of first offer/refusal, contraction and early termination.
- Assignment & sublease rights
- Your ability to sublease or assign if the business changes, and how profits are split.
More detail in the Birmingham office lease guide.
Where in Birmingham
Office tenant representation across the metro — the CBD, Southside, Midtown, the Hwy 280 corridor, Hoover and Vulcan/Oxmoor. Start with the Birmingham office space overview or the Class A building directory.
Tenant representation FAQ
What is tenant representation in commercial real estate?
Tenant representation means a licensed broker represents the company leasing space (the tenant) in a commercial lease, instead of the property owner. The tenant rep handles the market search, tours, proposal requests, financial comparison and lease negotiation for the tenant.
Do I sign an agreement with a Birmingham tenant rep?
Usually yes — a short written agreement confirms the broker represents you, describes the assignment, and discloses how the broker is compensated. Alabama law requires agency relationships to be disclosed in writing.
How long does a Birmingham office search take?
For a typical 5,000–25,000 SF office requirement, plan on roughly 6–12 months from kickoff to move-in: a few weeks to survey and tour, one to two months of proposals and negotiation, then lease drafting, design, permitting and construction. Larger or build-to-suit projects take longer.
What size office requirements do you handle?
From small professional offices to full-floor and headquarters requirements. Sandner’s focus is office space across the Birmingham metro, Class A and Class B, direct leases and subleases.
Leasing office space in Birmingham?
Get a tenant-side read on your options, current market rents and what concessions landlords are offering — before you tour or renew.