The tenant (the business occupying the space) who signs a commercial lease agreement is generally expected to be a more savvy, sophisticated, and informed tenant (also known as a lessee) than a tenant in a residential lease, and the law usually does not provide a commercial tenant with the same protections as residential tenant receives.

Because the law does not provide a commercial tenant with many protections, it is up to the commercial tenant to read, understand, and negotiate protections in a proposed lease agreement before signing it, as most every paragraph in a commercial lease agreement can have a significant impact on a business’s operations and financial stability.

Laws vary from state to state, but a commercial landlord’s ability to shut off a tenant’s utilities is usually determined by the terms of the lease agreement and the state’s contract law—to determine, for example, if any breach of the lease agreement by the tenant was a material breach that might justify an extreme measure such as shutting off the utilities.

Contract law in most states recognizes an implied duty of good faith and fair dealing between parties to a contract, and a commercial landlord who shuts off a tenant’s utilities because the tenant is a few days late paying the rent may be in breach of the landlord’s implied duty of good faith and fair dealing.

In Nevada, commercial tenants are indeed considered more sophisticated than residential tenants and are expected to negotiate the terms of their lease agreements. Nevada law does not provide the same level of statutory protections to commercial tenants as it does to residential tenants. This means that the rights and obligations of a commercial tenant are largely determined by the specific terms of the lease agreement they sign. Regarding utility shutoffs, while there is no specific statute in Nevada that governs a commercial landlord's ability to shut off utilities, such actions would typically be governed by the lease agreement and general contract law principles, including the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. If a landlord were to shut off utilities, it would need to be justified under the lease terms and not breach the implied duty of good faith. If a landlord acts in a manner that is arbitrary or capricious, such as shutting off utilities for a minor lease violation, they may be found in breach of this duty. It is crucial for commercial tenants in Nevada to carefully review and understand their lease agreements and seek the advice of an attorney if necessary before entering into such agreements.