Cell Tower Lease Owners: How do you respond to letters requesting

[David Kim]

Hi everyone,

My property has a cell phone tower on its roof, and I just received a letter from the carrier saying they've decommissioned some of their microwaves, and that they want us to reduce rent in light of this usage change.

There's an implied threat of terminating the lease ("<carrier> will similarly consider this site's viability and continue to evaluate alternatives").

Now, I assume they'd have to at least stick around for the next several years until the end of the current arm of our lease, but I do enjoy the stability of having a much longer term lease with them.

So... is this just a bluff, to shake out people who are easy? I'm thinking of calling them on their bluff, and saying we can consider renegotiating at the end of the current arm (in ~3 years), or just completely ignoring their letter, and assuming this is just an empty threat, and that they'll only go after the people who actually reply at all. After all, taking down a tower and building it up elsewhere should cost them far more than a $100 break in monthly rent will net them.

How would you proceed, in light of receiving such a letter?

Many thanks!

[Matt Clark]

@David Kim I wouldn’t want to let them know that it’s causing you any heartburn... they will “smell the blood in the water.”

Maybe you could counter offer and agree to the reduced rent if they go ahead and lock into a renewal period.