Fannie Mae DUS | 2026-10-26

Fannie Mae Commercial Leases Need an Estoppel-and-SNDA Plan

The current Guide makes Form 6413 mandatory for each Material Commercial Lease and ties Form 6415 to subordination, attornment, and foreclosure risk.

Fannie Mae's current Multifamily Guide requires the lender to analyze each Material Commercial Lease and its tenants, grantees, or other beneficiaries. When lease approval is required, the lender must prepare a written summary of the material terms and retain it in the Servicing File. For borrower-side counsel, commercial-lease diligence should therefore begin with a complete lease list and every amendment, renewal, extension, assignment, and side agreement.

The lender must obtain a Tenant Estoppel Certificate, Form 6413, for each Material Commercial Lease. The Guide's review considerations include the tenant's ability to perform, consistency between lease insurance provisions and the loan documents, lender-consent rights over transfers, and early-termination rights following casualty or condemnation. Those issues should be reconciled against the estoppel before it is circulated for signature.

Form 6415, the Subordination, Non-Disturbance and Attornment Agreement, is required when a Material Commercial Lease places landlord liabilities or other foreclosure-related risks on the borrower that would be unacceptable to the lender, when the form is needed for subordination and attornment, or when it would otherwise be beneficial. Every Material Commercial Lease, including a renewal or extension, must be subordinate to the Security Instrument and require the tenant to attorn to the lender under the mortgage loan.

For non-Material Commercial Leases, the lender must use reasonable efforts to obtain Form 6413, except for leases relating only to equipment or maintenance services. If a non-material lease conflicts with the mortgage loan or presents inappropriate risk, the borrower must modify it or address the issue in Form 6413. A closing tracker should record each lease's classification, governing documents, estoppel status, SNDA trigger, subordination and attornment language, open discrepancies, signer, and delivery date. This note is informational only and is not legal advice for any specific transaction.