Code provisions creating special protections for shopping center landlords. A debtor, whether as landlord or tenant, is permitted to assume and assign leases (see Assumption and Assignment of Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases). A requirement for assumption and assignment is that the debtor must show that the non-debtor party to the lease will have “adequate assurance” of the future performance of the lease by the assignee. Although the Code does not define the term “adequate assurance” with respect to leases generally, it does define the term with respect to a shopping center lease. The lessor must receive adequate assurance: (1) of the source of rent and other consideration due under the lease, and in the case of an assignment, that the financial condition and operating performance of the proposed assignee and its guarantors, if any, is similar to the financial condition and operating performance of the debtor and its guarantors, if any, as of the time the debtor became the lessee under the lease; (2) that any percentage rent due under the lease will not decline substantially; (3) that assumption or assignment of the lease is subject to all the provisions of the lease, including (but not limited to) provisions such as a radius, location, use, or exclusivity provision, and will not breach any such provision contained in any other lease, financing agreement, or master agreement relating to the shopping center; and (4) that assumption or assignment of the lease will not disrupt any tenant mix or balance in the shopping center.
Bankruptcy Code § 365(d)(3). See also Assumption and Assignment of Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases, Shopping Center, Shopping Center Lease.