For that reason, some property owners are less thorough in checking out a rooftop tenant's creditworthiness than they are with interior tenants according to brokers, lawyers and developers contacted by GlobeSt.com. Owners need to use the same due diligence as they practice with conventional leases, knowledgeable brokers say.

For example, the proliferation of cell phones and pagers has resulted in a land rush of sorts on rooftops from the central business district of Chicago to the suburbs, reports GlobeSt.com Midwest bureau chief Mark Ruda.

But some property owners are overlooking a tenant's credentials, a move that could come back to bite the owner later in his pocketbook, Jay A. Gitles, a partner at Seyfarth Shaw's real estate practice group in Chicago, tells Ruda.