Can City Wide charge a franchisee for costs incurred by City Wide in connection with the relocation of a City Wide Franchised Business?
City_Wide Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
CITY WIDE will permit you to relocate your Franchised Business to an alternate territory within the same general vicinity ("Substitute Designated Territory"), which, at CITY WIDE's sole and absolute right, is a suitable location for the operation of the Franchised Business, if at the sole and absolute judgment of CITY WIDE, changes in the character of the Designated Territory are sufficiently detrimental to warrant relocation of the Franchised Business to the Substitute Designated Territory. CITY WIDE reserves the right to charge you a reasonable relocation fee as a condition of approval of any Substitute Designated Territory for the Franchised Business. Any such relocation will be at Franchisee's sole expense and CITY WIDE will have the right to charge Franchisee for any costs incurred by CITY WIDE, and a reasonable fee for its services, in connection with any such relocation of the Franchised Business.
Source: Item 12 — TERRITORY (FDD pages 36–39)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to City Wide's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, City Wide can charge a franchisee for costs incurred if the franchisee relocates their franchised business. City Wide may permit a franchisee to relocate to a "Substitute Designated Territory" if City Wide believes changes to the original territory are detrimental to the business. However, this relocation is at the franchisee's expense.
City Wide reserves the right to charge a "reasonable relocation fee" as a condition of approving the new territory. Furthermore, City Wide can charge the franchisee for any costs it incurs during the relocation process, as well as a reasonable fee for its services related to the relocation.
This means that a City Wide franchisee considering relocation needs to factor in not only their own moving expenses but also potential fees and costs charged by City Wide. The FDD does not specify how these fees are calculated, only that they must be reasonable. A prospective franchisee should discuss with City Wide what factors go into determining relocation fees and what typical costs have been for other franchisees who have relocated.