Given all the supposed shortages we’re experiencing in electricity, natural gas, gasoline, water, freeways, parking and other economic essentials, one thing that’s no longer in short supply is office space in the suburban areas.

I’ve mentioned in recent columns the growing inventory of office space that is prematurely coming back onto the market because tenants are downsizing and no longer need the space they once occupied. Many, if not most, of these tenants are in the hard-hit technology sector. At last report, high-tech giants such as Gateway, Copper Mountain Networks, Compass Learning, and Alaris collectively have more than 400,000 square feet of space available for subtenants and they by no means are alone. There are growing numbers of other medium and large companies that have put themselves on a “space diet” to shed unwanted square feet.

At first glance, the relatively sudden availability of office space in Sorrento Mesa, UTC, and other suburban locations may seem like a good deal for other companies hoping to find below-market deals in office space. But, as with anything in life, there “ain’t no free lunch,” even in situations where one company’s need or desire to cut back is another’s opportunity.

For example, tenants who are looking to sublease space from distressed primary tenants need to keep in mind the primary reason those companies are dumping the space. The economy’s slowing down. Demand for their products and services is slackening. It’s entirely possible the factors affecting the technology market will spread to other sectors in our economy.

However, life does go on and even in the worst of times, there will always be businesses in the market to lease office space. So let’s look at the other side of the coin at the advantages and changes we’re seeing as a result of the new supply of space available for sublease.

Just as I predicted, landlords who are competing with all this space are relearning the basics of market competition. They are required to offer more concessions — a word that was very taboo in days gone by when office space was a tight commodity. The term, “tenant improvement allowance,” has begun to creep back into the vocabulary in lease negotiations. Landlords are relaxing their once-onerous credit enhancement requirements — don’t get me started on the ridiculous guarantees and requirements building owners typically exact from tenants — and more reasonable leasehold terms are now more negotiable.

In direct-lease situations, it isn’t uncommon for landlords today to settle for five-year leases when 10-year leaseholds were the rule only a few short months ago. This is a result of having to compete with the numerous short-term subleases available. It appears that some landlords in these situations are beginning to expedite their processing of landlord consent forms — a routine process in which the landlord consents to the sublease. As pointed out in my last column, this process has been unnecessarily lengthy.

Tenants wishing to sublease space need to understand the basic dynamics of risk and leverage in securing space under these conditions. It’s true that the original tenant remains legally liable for the lease. However, if that tenant defaults, the landlord has the option to evict the subtenant, even if the subtenant is current in paying his share of the leasehold unless the sublessee insisted on a landlord “attornment.” Landlords are typically reluctant to agree to an attornment, which is a binding agreement that enforces the sublease terms on the landlord in the event the primary tenant defaults.

Keep in mind, the subleasing phenomenon is largely confined to the suburban office market. Office space in the downtown San Diego and other central city locales is still relatively tight. So far, the majority of tenants in those markets have not been impacted by the need to downsize and shed space. Even if the economy continues to cool, it isn’t likely to loosen up great quantities of space, given the fact that there’s been no new office space built in the downtown area for 11 years. In fact, downtown office tenants continue to clamor and claw for additional space to expand.

The shortage of downtown and other central city area office space and a growing glut of space just few minutes’ drive away paints a picture of stark contrasts in the San Diego metropolitan office market. It’s similar to third-world societies where poverty coexists side by side with affluence. Given the impacts the slowing economy and energy crisis are having on our local region, one can only hope such similarities will not describe other economic conditions of our local economy in the weeks and months ahead.