Also known as:industrial properties · industrial IP
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A category of real property leased or used for manufacturing, production, or similar industrial activities. The classification determines whether residential habitability and repair rules apply to the lease.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Repair Duty Dispute on Factory Lease
Icarus Aviation leased a large hangar and assembly building from Indigo Textiles for aircraft component production. After fumes from the manufacturing floor seeped into an on-site supervisor apartment through shared ducts, the supervisor demanded repairs. Indigo Textiles refused, asserting the entire facility qualified as industrial property outside residential repair rules. The court must decide whether the lease characterization controls the duty to maintain the ventilation system.
Government Seizure of Steel Plant
Ivy Investments owned a steel mill that the federal government ordered seized to avert a nationwide strike. The company challenged the order as exceeding executive authority over private industrial facilities. The seizure raised questions about the balance between presidential power and congressional limits on taking industrial property for public needs.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Restatements
Dictionaries
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer343 U.S. 579 (1952)
Design Copying at Boat Factory
Ironwood Capital manufactured boat hulls using a molding process developed in-house. A competitor began producing identical hulls by copying the design directly from finished products. Ironwood sued, claiming the copying violated protections for industrial designs even though the hulls themselves were functional industrial property.
Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.489 U.S. 141, 162 (1989)
School Funding from Factory Taxes
Ibrahim Iqbal lived in a district where a large chemical plant paid substantial property taxes that funded local schools. Neighboring districts with fewer industrial facilities received less revenue despite similar student needs. The disparity prompted a challenge to whether reliance on industrial property taxes for education financing satisfied equal protection requirements.
San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez411 U.S. 1, 93 S. Ct. 127, 36 L. Ed. 2d 16 (1973)
Billboard Ban Near Factory Zone
Israel Irving erected billboards advertising his industrial supply business along a highway bordering an industrial park. The city banned all off-site billboards, including those in commercial and industrial zones. Irving claimed the total prohibition unduly restricted speech in areas where industrial property owners relied on visible signage.
Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego453 U.S. 490 (1981)
Eminent Domain for Industrial Redevelopment
Idina Iverson owned a small machine shop in a declining industrial corridor. The city condemned the property to transfer it to a developer planning a mixed-use project that included new manufacturing space. Iverson contested the taking, arguing that economic redevelopment did not justify seizing industrial property for private transfer.
City of Norwood v. Horney853 N.E.2d 1115 (Ohio 2006)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
4
Does the implied warranty of habitability apply to leases of industrial property?+
The Restatement takes no position on whether residential repair obligations extend to tenants of commercial or industrial property. Courts must examine the lease language and actual use to determine whether the arrangement is truly residential or industrial in character.
Supporting sources
What factors distinguish an industrial lease from a residential one when an employee lives on site?+
Key factors include whether the lease separately characterizes the space as residential, whether rent is paid independently of salary, and whether the tenant maintains exclusive personal use. Physical integration with production areas and 24-hour employment duties weigh against residential classification.
Supporting sources
Can a landlord avoid repair duties simply by labeling property industrial?+
No. The parties' own lease description and the tenant's actual exclusive residential use can establish a residential tenancy even on industrial premises. Courts look to the contemplated use rather than the surrounding industrial setting alone.
Supporting sources
When a landlord breaches a commercial lease of industrial property, what damages are recoverable?+
A tenant may recover all foreseeable consequential damages caused by the breach, including relocation costs, increased rent at substitute facilities, and repair expenses for equipment damaged by the landlord's default, provided there is no double recovery.
Supporting sources
343 U.S. 579 (1952)Constitutional Law
…that it is necessitated or invited by failure of Congress to legislate upon the occasions, grounds and methods for seizure of industrial properties. This leaves the current seizure to be justified only by the severe tests under the third grouping, where it can be supported only by any remainder of executive power after subtraction of…