A medical spa sits between two worlds: it has the plumbing and ambiance of a salon and the licensing, oversight, and liability of a clinic. Treatments like injectables and lasers require medical supervision, HIPAA handling, and a permitted use that actually covers medical aesthetics, on top of a salon-style build-out. For the salon side, see the salon & spa checklist; for the medical side, the medical & dental office checklist.
This is an observational checklist. Each item names what to find in your lease and why it matters — it does not tell you what to decide. Confirm what your document actually says for each point, and treat any protection that is simply absent as information about where your exposure sits. The legal judgment about what to do with what you find is yours.
1. The Licensing and Medical-Oversight Terms
A med spa is a medical practice, and the lease has to permit that.
- Permitted use for medical aesthetics. Confirm the permitted-use clause expressly covers medical aesthetic procedures, not just a day spa or salon.
- Medical director and scope. Find whether anything in the lease touches the medical-direction or supervision structure your state requires.
- Licensing contingency. Confirm whether the lease is contingent on the facility and professional licensing the med spa needs.
- HIPAA-compatible layout. Find whether the layout and shared building systems support patient-privacy requirements.
2. The Build-Out Terms
A med spa fit-out blends salon plumbing with clinical equipment.
- Treatment rooms and plumbing. Confirm who installs and maintains the treatment rooms and the plumbing for facials, body treatments, and sanitation.
- Laser and device power and ventilation. Find the electrical capacity and ventilation that lasers and aesthetic devices require, and who provides them.
- Sharps and biohazard handling. Confirm responsibility for sharps and biohazard disposal from injectable and minor procedures.
- Tenant improvement allowance and restoration. Confirm the build-out contribution and the surrender condition, including removal of the specialized build-out. The restoration cost estimator gives a range.
3. The Operating and Money Terms
How the spa runs, and what it really pays.
- Hours, signage, and exclusivity. Confirm the hours and signage permitted and whether you have protection against a competing med spa in the center.
- Lease structure, CAM, and percentage rent. Confirm whether the lease is gross or triple-net (NNN), whether CAM is capped, and whether percentage rent applies in a retail center. The CAM charges calculator estimates pass-throughs.
4. The Liability and Exit Terms
Medical procedures raise the liability profile.
- Insurance and indemnification. Confirm the required malpractice and general coverage and whether indemnification runs one way or is mutual.
- Personal guaranty. Confirm whether you are personally guaranteeing the lease and whether it is capped. An unlimited personal guaranty puts your own assets behind the full remaining lease value; negotiated leases commonly include a cap, time limit, or burn-off. The personal guaranty calculator sizes the exposure.
- Assignment, early termination, and holdover. Confirm whether you can assign the lease when you sell the spa, any early-termination right, and the holdover rent. The early termination calculator estimates the exposure.
5. The Dispute Terms
These decide the outcome if the relationship goes wrong.
- Default, cure, and landlord mitigation. Confirm how default is defined, the cure period, and whether the landlord must make reasonable efforts to re-let after a default.
- Attorney fees, jury waiver, and venue. Confirm whether fee-shifting is one-way or mutual, whether you are waiving a jury trial, and which state’s law governs.
How to use the result: Mark every item you cannot answer from the lease text. The unanswered items are your shortlist for questions, negotiation, or counsel review — and a missing protection is itself a finding, not a blank to ignore. Related reading: medical spa and health and beauty lease risk, the salon & spa checklist, and the medical & dental office checklist.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I check in a medical spa lease before signing?
Confirm the permitted-use clause expressly covers medical aesthetic procedures (not just a salon), any medical-direction structure your state requires, a licensing contingency, and a HIPAA-compatible layout. Then confirm the build-out (treatment rooms, plumbing, laser power and ventilation, sharps handling), insurance, the personal guaranty, and restoration. Confirm each against the lease text before signing.
Is a med spa lease treated as medical or retail?
Both, which is the catch. A med spa has the plumbing, ambiance, and often the retail-center location of a salon, but the licensing, medical oversight, HIPAA, and liability of a clinic. The lease needs a permitted use that covers medical aesthetics and a build-out that supports clinical equipment, so review it against both the salon and the medical checklists.
Does the permitted-use clause matter for a med spa?
Yes, a great deal. A clause written for a day spa or salon may not cover injectables, lasers, or other medical procedures, which can put you in default or block licensing. Confirm the permitted use expressly covers medical aesthetic services and leaves room for the treatments you plan to add.
Should a medical spa lease be reviewed by an attorney?
Med spa leases combine medical licensing and oversight, HIPAA, a hybrid build-out, malpractice exposure, and a personal guaranty, so they are commonly reviewed by counsel before signing. A checklist and an automated scan can tell you where the exposure sits; the legal judgment about what to do with that information is yours.