Where does AUSPL stand on the commission issue?
The AUSPL Board of Directors has unanimously opposed the USPS practice of asking lessors to pay commissions to third party brokers from the inception of the original CBRE contract and our position is unchanged. We do not object to the Postal Service hiring outside agents to process renewals, but asking lessors to pay the cost is simply unfair. USPS argues it is standard industry practice for tenants to hire brokers to negotiate renewals with the expectation that the landlord will pay a commission. This practice is common in multi-tenant office buildings and sometimes when there is a new lease in a new location. AUSPL believes that landlord payment of renewal commissions on free standing, single occupant buildings is extremely unusual, especially where the initial lease was negotiated directly between the building owner and tenant.