OFFICE PROPERTIES INCOME TRUST 10-K

Item 1A. Risk Factors Summary of Risk Factors Our business is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. The summary below provides an overview of many of the risks we face that are described in this section. Additional risks, beyond those summarized below or discussed in this section, may also materially and adversely impact our business, operations or financial results. Consistent with the foregoing, the risks we face include, but are not limited to, the following: • the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting economic impact may materially adversely affect our and our tenants’ businesses, operations, financial results and liquidity; • the COVID-19 pandemic has had, and may continue to have, significant impacts on workplace practices and those changes, together with current office space utilization trends, could impact our business; • we may be unable to renew our leases with current tenants when our leases expire or lease our properties to new tenants without decreasing rents, incurring significant costs, providing certain concessions or otherwise; • our tenants may be unable to satisfy their lease obligations to us, which could materially and adversely affect us; • some of our properties depend upon a private sector single tenant for all or a majority of their rental income, and, therefore, we may be adversely affected by the bankruptcy or insolvency, the downturn in the business or a lease termination of a single private sector tenant; • government budgetary pressures and priorities and trends in government employment and office leasing may adversely impact our business; • we currently have a concentration of properties in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. market area and are exposed to changes in market conditions in this area; • our capital recycling program may not be successful, we may be unable to grow our business by acquisitions of additional properties and we face significant competition for acquisition opportunities and tenants; • REIT distribution requirements and any limitations on our ability to access reasonably priced capital may adversely impact our ability to carry out our business plan and we are subject to risks associated with our qualification for taxation as a REIT; • some tenants have the right to terminate their leases prior to their lease expiration date and changes in our tenants’ demands and requirements for leased space may adversely affect us; • we have debt and may incur additional debt, and we are subject to the covenants and conditions contained in the agreements governing our debt, which may restrict our operations and ability to make investments and distributions; • changes in market interest rates, including changes that may result from the expected phase out of LIBOR, may adversely affect us; 27 Table of Contents • ownership of real estate is subject to environmental risks and liabilities as well as risks from adverse weather, natural disasters and climate events; • insurance may not adequately cover our losses, and insurance costs may continue to increase; • we depend upon RMR LLC to manage our business and implement our growth strategy and RMR LLC has broad discretion in operating our day to day business; • we rely on RMR LLC’s information technology and systems and the failure of the security or functioning of such technology or systems could materially and adversely affect us; • our management structure and agreements with RMR LLC and our relationships with our related parties, including our Managing Trustees, RMR LLC and others affiliated with them, may create conflicts of interest; • ownership limitations and certain provisions in our declaration of trust, bylaws and agreements as well as certain provisions of Maryland law, may deter, delay or prevent a change in our control or unsolicited acquisition proposals; • our rights and the rights of our shareholders to take action against our Trustees and officers are limited, and our declaration of trust and bylaws contain provisions that could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a judicial forum they deem favorable for certain disputes; • we may change our operational, financing and investment policies without shareholder approval and we may become more highly leveraged, which may increase our risk of default under our debt obligations and/or result in downgrades in our credit ratings, and any such downgrades may increase our cost of capital; • our distributions to our shareholders may be reduced or eliminated and the form of payment could change; and • our public debt is structurally subordinated to the indebtedness and other liabilities of our subsidiaries and is effectively subordinated to our existing and future secured indebtedness to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness. The risks described below may not be the only risks we face but are risks we believe may be material at this time. Other risks of which we are not yet aware, or that we currently believe are not material, may also materially and adversely impact our business operations or financial results. If any of the events or circumstances described below occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations or ability to make distributions to our shareholders could be adversely affected and the value of an investment in our securities could decline. Investors and prospective investors should consider the risks described below and the information contained under the caption “Warning Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K before deciding whether to invest in our securities. Risks Related to Our Business The COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting economic impact may materially adversely affect our business, operations, financial results and liquidity. The strain of coronavirus that causes the viral disease known as COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary has declared a public health emergency in the United States in response to the outbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial adverse impact on the global economy, including the U.S. economy. Economic downturns and recessions in the United States have historically negatively impacted the commercial office real estate market, including by causing increased tenant defaults, decreased occupancies and reduced rental rates. Although, to date, we have not been materially adversely affected by the pandemic and the current economic conditions, we may experience those effects if the pandemic and current economic conditions continue or worsen for a substantial period or the demand for leasing office space at our properties declines as a result. The ultimate impact may have similar negative impacts on our business and the extent of any negative consequences will depend to a large extent on the duration and depth of the pandemic and economic conditions in the United States. Additionally, we conduct leasing activities at our properties. Reductions in the ability and willingness of prospective tenants to visit our properties due to the COVID-19 outbreak, or the extent to which federal, state and municipal orders limit our manager’s employees visiting our properties, could have an impact on our leasing activity which could reduce rental income and tenant reimbursements and other income produced by our properties. We experienced a slowdown in our leasing 28 Table of Contents activity in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and expect this slowdown may continue until market conditions improve for a sustained period. Concerns relating to such an outbreak could also cause on-site personnel not to report for work at our properties, which could adversely affect the management of our properties. It is unclear whether the availability and distribution of vaccines will curtail infection rates and, if so, what the impact of that would be on human health and safety, the economy or our business. We cannot predict the extent and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic or the severity and duration of its economic impact. Potential consequences of the current unprecedented measures taken in response to the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, and current market disruptions and volatility affecting us include, but are not limited to: • increased risk of default or bankruptcy of our tenants; • our tenants exercising rights to terminate our leases; • possible significant declines in the value of our properties; • our inability to sell properties we may identify for sale due to a general decline in business activity and demand for real estate transactions and, as a result, our inability to redeploy our capital into investments we believe are more beneficial to us; • our inability to comply with certain financial covenants that could result in our defaulting under our debt agreements; • our inability to access debt and equity capital on attractive terms, or at all; • declines in the market price of our common shares; • downgrades of our credit ratings by nationally recognized credit rating agencies; • our need to reduce or eliminate the distributions we pay to our shareholders and our need to maintain such reduction or elimination for an extended period of time; • our failure to pay interest or principal when due under our outstanding debt, which may result in the acceleration of payment for our outstanding debt and our possible loss of our revolving credit facility; and • reduced economic demand resulting from mass employee layoffs or furloughs in response to governmental action taken to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, which could impact the continued viability of our tenants and the demand for office space at our properties. Further, the extent and strength of any economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic ends or otherwise, are uncertain and subject to various factors and conditions. Our business, operations and financial position may continue to be negatively impacted after the COVID-19 pandemic ends and may remain at depressed levels compared to prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and those conditions may continue for an extended period. The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and may continue to have, significant impacts on workplace practices and those changes, or other office space utilization trends, could impact our business. Temporary closures of businesses and stay in place orders and the resulting remote working arrangements for non-essential personnel in response to the COVID-19 pandemic may result in long-term changed work practices that could negatively impact us and our business. For example, the increased adoption of and familiarity with remote work practices, and the recent increase in tenants seeking to sublease their leased space, could result in decreased demand for office space. Further, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a general trend in office real estate for tenants to decrease the space they occupy per employee. If either or both of those trends were to continue or accelerate, our tenants may elect to not renew their leases, or to renew them for less space than they currently occupy, which could increase the vacancy and decrease rental income at our properties. The need to reconfigure leased office space, either in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to new tenants’ needs, to modify utilization or for other reasons, may impact space requirements and also may require us to spend increased amounts for tenant improvements. If substantial reconfiguration of the tenant’s space is required, the tenant may find it more advantageous to relocate than to renew its lease and renovate the existing space. If so, our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects may be materially adversely impacted. 29 Table of Contents We may be unable to renew our leases with current tenants or lease our properties to new tenants when our leases expire. The weighted average remaining term of our leases in effect as of December 31, 2020 is 5.1 years based upon annualized rental income and 5.0 years based upon occupied square footage. As of December 31, 2020, leases representing approximately 12.1% of our annualized rental income and 16.1% of our occupied square footage will expire by December 31, 2021 and leases representing approximately 34.8% of our annualized rental income and 35.3% of our occupied square footage will expire by December 31, 2023. Our leases with government tenants typically have shorter terms than our leases with nongovernment tenants, although the terms of our leases with government contractor tenants tend to be for terms consistent with the tenants’ with government contracts, which are generally three to five years. These shorter terms require more frequent lease renewal or releasing. Although we typically will seek to renew our leases with current tenants when they expire, we cannot be sure that we will be successful in doing so. If our tenants do not renew their leases, we may be unable to obtain new tenants to maintain or increase the historical occupancy rates of, or rents from, our properties. We may experience declining rents or incur significant costs to renew our leases with current tenants or lease our properties to new tenants. When we renew our leases with current tenants or lease to new tenants, we may experience rent decreases, and we may have to spend substantial amounts for leasing commissions, tenant improvements or other tenant inducements. Moreover, many of our properties have been specially designed for the particular businesses of our tenants; if the current leases for such properties are terminated or are not renewed, we may be required to renovate such properties at substantial costs, decrease the rents we charge or provide other concessions in order to lease such properties to new tenants. Further, laws and regulations applicable to government leasing often require public solicitations of bids when new or renewal leases are being considered. Market conditions may require us to lower our rents to retain government or other tenants. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting economic impact may cause the office leasing market to become more favorable to tenants, and we may be required to decrease the rents we charge or provide other tenant concessions. In addition, some of our current rents include payments to amortize the cost of tenant improvements which government or other tenants may be unwilling to pay or contractually allowed to eliminate when leases are renewed. Some of our properties depend upon a private sector single tenant for all or a majority of their rental income; therefore, our financial condition, including our ability to make distributions to shareholders, may be adversely affected by the bankruptcy or insolvency, a downturn in the business, or a lease termination of such a single tenant. As of December 31, 2020, 47.2% of our annualized rental revenue was from our properties leased to private sector single tenants. The value of our private sector single tenant properties is materially dependent on the performance of those tenants under their respective leases. These tenants face competition within their industries and other factors that could reduce their ability to pay us rent. Lease payment defaults by such tenants could cause us to reduce the amount of distributions that we pay to our shareholders. A default by a single or major tenant, the failure of a guarantor to fulfill its obligations or other premature termination of a lease to such a tenant or such tenant’s election not to extend a lease upon its expiration could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and ability to pay distributions to our shareholders. Government budgetary pressures and priorities and trends in government employment and office leasing may adversely impact our business. We believe that recent government budgetary and spending priorities and enhancements in technology have resulted in a decrease in government office use for employees. Furthermore, over the past several years, government tenants have reduced their space utilization per employee and consolidated government tenants into existing government owned properties. This activity has reduced the demand for government leased space. Our historical experience with respect to properties of the type we own that are majority leased to government tenants has been that government tenants frequently renew leases to avoid the costs and disruptions that may result from relocating their operations. However, efforts to manage space utilization rates may result in our tenants exercising early termination rights under our leases, vacating our properties upon expiration of our leases in order to relocate, or renewing their leases for less space than they currently occupy. Also, our government tenants’ desire to reconfigure leased office space to manage utilization per employee may require us to spend significant amounts for tenant improvements, and tenant relocations are often more prevalent in those circumstances. Increasing uncertainty with respect to government agency budgets and funding to implement relocations, consolidations and reconfigurations has resulted in delayed decisions by some of our government tenants and their reliance on short term lease renewals; however, recent activity prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic suggested that the U.S. government had begun to shift its leasing strategy to include longer term leases and was actively exploring 10 to 20 year lease terms at renewal, in some instances. It is also possible that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, government tenants may seek to manage space utilization rates in order to provide greater 30 Table of Contents physical distancing for employees, which may require us to spend significant amounts for tenant improvements, mostly with lease renewals. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath have had negative impacts on government budgets and resources and it is unclear what the effect of these impacts will be on government demand for leasing office space. In addition, the new presidential administration may result in a change in the federal government’s policy priorities, which may impact leasing at our government leased properties. Given the significant uncertainties, including as to the COVID-19 pandemic, its economic impact and its aftermath and the new presidential administration, we are unable to reasonably project what the financial impact of market conditions or changing government circumstances will be on our financial results for future periods. We currently have a concentration of properties in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. market area and are exposed to changes in market conditions in this area. As of December 31, 2020, we derived approximately 23.5% of our annualized rental income from our consolidated properties located in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. market area. In addition, the three properties owned by two joint ventures in which we own 51% and 50% interests are also located in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. market area. A downturn in economic conditions in this area, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, could result in reduced demand from tenants for our properties, reduced rents that our tenants in this area are willing to pay when our leases expire and increased lease concessions for new leases and renewals. Additionally, in recent years there has been a decrease in demand for new leased space by the U.S. government in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. market area, and that could increase competition for government tenants and adversely affect our ability to retain government tenants when our leases expire. Thus, adverse developments and/or conditions in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. market area could reduce demand for space, impact the credit worthiness of our tenants or force our tenants to curtail operations, which could impair their ability to meet their rent obligations to us and, accordingly, could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and ability to pay distributions to our shareholders. Our capital recycling program may not be successful. Through our capital recycling program, we seek to selectively sell certain properties from time to time to fund future acquisitions and to maintain leverage consistent with our current investment grade ratings with a goal of (1) improving the asset quality of our portfolio by reducing the average age of our properties, lengthening the weighted average lease term of our leases and increasing the likelihood of retaining our tenants and (2) increasing our cash available for distribution. However, our ability to sell our properties we identify for sale, and the prices we receive upon a sale, may be affected by many factors, and we may be unable to execute our strategy. In particular, these factors could arise from weakness in or the lack of an established market for a property, changes in the financial condition or prospects of prospective purchasers and the availability of financing to potential purchasers on reasonable terms, the number of prospective purchasers, the number of competing properties on the market, unfavorable local, national or international economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, industry trends, and changes in laws, regulations or fiscal policies of jurisdictions in which the property is located. We may not succeed in selling properties that we identify for sale, the terms of any such sales may not meet our expectations and we may incur losses in connection with those sales. Further, we may not succeed in identifying and acquiring properties that improve the asset quality of our portfolio and enable us to increase our cash available for distribution or maintain leverage consistent with our current investment grade ratings. As a result, our capital recycling program may not be successful. We may be unable to grow our business by acquisitions of additional properties, and we might encounter unanticipated difficulties and expenditures relating to our acquired properties. Our business plans involve the acquisition of additional properties. Our ability to make profitable acquisitions is subject to risks, including, but not limited to, risks associated with: • competition from other investors, including publicly traded and private REITs, numerous financial institutions, individuals, foreign investors and other public and private companies; • our long term cost of capital; • contingencies in our acquisition agreements; and • the availability and terms of financing. We might encounter unanticipated difficulties and expenditures relating to our acquired properties. For example: • we do not believe that it is possible to understand fully a property before it is owned and operated for a reasonable period of time, and, notwithstanding pre-acquisition due diligence, we could acquire a property that contains undisclosed defects in design or construction; 31 Table of Contents • an acquired property may be located in a new market where we may face risks associated with investing in an unfamiliar market; • the market in which an acquired property is located may experience unexpected changes that adversely affect the property’s value; • the occupancy of and rents from properties that we acquire may decline during our ownership; • property operating costs for our acquired properties may be higher than anticipated and our acquired properties may not yield expected returns; • we may acquire properties subject to unknown liabilities and without any recourse, or with limited recourse, such as liability for the cleanup of undisclosed environmental contamination or for claims by tenants, vendors or other persons related to actions taken by former owners of the properties; and • acquired properties might require significant management attention that would otherwise be devoted to our other business activities. For these reasons, among others, we might not realize the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions, and our business plan to acquire additional properties may not succeed or may cause us to experience losses. REIT distribution requirements and limitations on our ability to access reasonably priced capital may adversely impact our ability to carry out our business plan. To maintain our qualification for taxation as a REIT under the IRC, we are required to satisfy distribution requirements imposed by the IRC. See “Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—REIT Qualification Requirements—Annual Distribution Requirements” included in Part I, Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Accordingly, we may not be able to retain sufficient cash to fund our operations, repay our debts, invest in our properties or fund our acquisitions or development or redevelopment efforts. Our business strategies therefore depend, in part, upon our ability to raise additional capital at reasonable costs. The volatility in the availability of capital to businesses on a global basis in most debt and equity markets generally may limit our ability to raise reasonably priced capital. We may also be unable to raise reasonably priced capital because of reasons related to our business, market perceptions of our prospects, the terms of our indebtedness, the extent of our leverage or for reasons beyond our control, such as market conditions. Because the earnings we are permitted to retain are limited by the rules governing REIT qualification and taxation, if we are unable to raise reasonably priced capital, we may not be able to carry out our business plan. We face significant competition. We face significant competition for acquisition opportunities from other investors, including publicly traded and private REITs, numerous financial institutions, individuals, foreign investors and other public and private companies. Some of our competitors may have greater financial and other resources than us. Because of competition for acquisitions, we may be unable to acquire desirable properties or we may pay higher prices for, and realize lower net cash flows than we hope to achieve from, acquisitions. We also face competition for tenants at our properties. Some competing properties may be newer, better located or more attractive to tenants. Competing properties may have lower rates of occupancy than our properties, which may result in competing owners offering available space at lower rents than we offer at our properties. Development activities may increase the supply of properties of the type we own in the leasing markets in which we own properties and increase the competition we face. Competition may make it difficult for us to attract and retain tenants and may reduce the rents we are able to charge and the values of our properties. The U.S. government’s “green lease” policies may adversely affect us. In recent years, the U.S. government has instituted “green lease” policies which allow a government tenant to require Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for commercial interiors, or LEED®-CI, designation in selecting new premises or renewing leases at existing premises. In addition, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 allows the GSA to give preference to buildings for lease that have received an “Energy Star” label. Obtaining and maintaining such designation and labels may be costly and time consuming, but our failure to do so may result in our competitive disadvantage in acquiring new or retaining existing government tenants. 32 Table of Contents Some tenants have the right to terminate their leases prior to their lease expiration date and changes in our tenants’ requirements for leased space may adversely affect us. Some of our leases allow the tenants to vacate the leased premises before the stated terms of the leases expire with little or no liability. In particular: • Tenants occupying approximately 7.4% of our rentable square feet and responsible for approximately 9.2% of our annualized rental income as of December 31, 2020 have currently exercisable rights to terminate their leases before the stated term of their leases expire. • In 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2035, early termination rights become exercisable by tenants who currently occupy an additional approximately 1.3%, 2.8%, 1.5%, 1.1%, 2.1%, 1.0%, 0.6%, 1.1%, 0.1% and 0.3%, of our rentable square feet, respectively, and contribute an additional approximately 1.6%, 2.9%, 1.7%, 1.7%, 3.5%, 1.3%, 1.1%, 1.3%, 0.2% and 0.4% of our annualized rental income, respectively, as of December 31, 2020. • As of December 31, 2020, pursuant to leases with 13 of our tenants, these tenants have rights to terminate their leases if their respective legislature or other funding authority does not appropriate rent amounts in their respective annual budgets. These 13 tenants represented approximately 5.0% of our rentable square feet and 5.9% of our annualized rental income as of December 31, 2020. For various reasons, some or all of our tenants may decide to exercise early termination rights under our leases or vacate our properties upon expiration of our leases. Also, our tenants may seek to reduce the space they occupy at our properties in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to modify their space utilization or for other reasons. See “—The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and may continue to have, significant impacts on workplace practices and those changes, or other office space utilization trends, could impact our business” and “—Government budgetary pressures and priorities and trends in government employment and office leasing may adversely impact our business” included in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. If a significant number of such events occur, our income and cash flow may materially decline and our ability to make or sustain distributions to our shareholders may be jeopardized. We have debt and we may incur additional debt. As of December 31, 2020, our consolidated indebtedness was $2.2 billion. We had no amounts outstanding under our revolving credit facility and $750.0 million available for borrowing as of December 31, 2020 and February 18, 2021. Our credit agreement includes a feature under which the maximum aggregate borrowing availability may be increased to up to $1.95 billion in certain circumstances. We are subject to numerous risks associated with our debt, including the risk that our cash flows could be insufficient for us to make required payments on our debt. There are no limits in our organizational documents on the amount of debt we may incur, and we may incur substantial debt. Our debt obligations could have important consequences to our securityholders. Our incurrence of debt may increase our vulnerability to adverse economic, market and industry conditions, limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business, and place us at a disadvantage in relation to competitors that have lower debt levels. Our incurrence of debt could also increase the costs to us of incurring additional debt, increase our exposure to floating interest rates or expose us to potential events of default (if not cured or waived) under covenants contained in debt instruments that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Excessive debt could reduce the available cash flow to fund, or limit our ability to obtain financing for, working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, construction projects, refinancing, lease obligations or other purposes, and hinder our ability to maintain investment grade ratings from nationally recognized credit rating agencies or to make or sustain distributions to our shareholders. If we default under any of our debt obligations, we may be in default under the agreements governing other debt obligations of ours which have cross default provisions, including our credit agreement and our senior unsecured notes indentures and their supplements. In such case, our lenders or bondholders may demand immediate payment of any outstanding indebtedness and we could be forced to liquidate our assets for less than the values we would receive in a more orderly process. We may fail to comply with the terms of our credit agreement and our senior unsecured notes indentures and their supplements, which could adversely affect our business and may prevent our making distributions to our shareholders. Our credit agreement and our senior unsecured notes indentures and their supplements include various conditions, covenants and events of default. We may not be able to satisfy all of these conditions or may default on some of these 33 Table of Contents covenants for various reasons, including for reasons beyond our control. For example, our credit agreement and our senior unsecured notes indentures and their supplements require us to comply with certain financial and other covenants. Our ability to comply with such covenants will depend upon the net rental income we receive from our properties. If the occupancy at our properties declines or if our rents decline, we may be unable to borrow under our revolving credit facility. Complying with these covenants may limit our ability to take actions that may be beneficial to us and our securityholders. If we are unable to borrow under our revolving credit facility, we may be unable to meet our obligations or grow our business by acquiring additional properties. If we default under our credit agreement, our lenders may demand immediate payment and may elect not to fund future borrowings. During the continuance of any event of default under our credit agreement, we may be limited or in some cases prohibited from making distributions to our shareholders. Any default under our credit agreement that results in acceleration of our obligations to repay outstanding indebtedness or in our no longer being permitted to borrow under our revolving credit facility would likely have serious adverse consequences to us and would likely cause the value of our securities to decline. In the future, we may obtain additional debt financing, and the covenants and conditions which apply to any such additional debt may be more restrictive than the covenants and conditions that are contained in our credit agreement or our senior unsecured notes indentures and their supplements. Changes in market interest rates, including changes that may result from the expected phase out of LIBOR, may adversely affect us. Interest rates have remained at relatively low levels on a historical basis, and the U.S. Federal Reserve System, or the U.S. Federal Reserve, has indicated that it does not expect to raise interest rates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and current market conditions until at least the end of 2023. There can be no assurance, however, that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not raise rates prior to that time. Low market interest rates, particularly if they remain over a sustained period, may increase our use of debt capital to fund property acquisitions, lower capitalization rates for property purchases and increase competition for property purchases, which may reduce our ability to acquire new properties. In addition, as noted in Part II, Item 7A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, LIBOR is currently expected to be phased out for new contracts by December 31, 2021 and for pre-existing contracts by June 30, 2023. Although the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted, and may continue to impact, this phase out, it is unclear if after June 30, 2023 LIBOR will cease to exist or if new methods of calculating LIBOR will be established such that it continues to exist after June 30, 2023. The interest rate under our revolving credit facility is based on LIBOR and the interest we may pay on any future debt we may incur may also be based on LIBOR. We currently expect that the determination of interest under our revolving credit facility would be based on the alternative rates provided under our credit agreement or would be revised as provided under our credit agreement or amended as necessary to provide for an interest rate that approximates the existing interest rate as calculated in accordance with LIBOR. Despite our current expectations, we cannot be sure that, if LIBOR is phased out or transitioned, the changes to the determination of interest under our credit agreement would approximate the current calculation in accordance with LIBOR. An alternative interest rate index that may replace LIBOR may result in our paying increased interest. Interest rate increases may materially and negatively affect us in several ways, including: • Investors may consider whether to buy or sell our common shares based upon the distribution rate on our common shares relative to the then prevailing market interest rates. If market interest rates go up, investors may expect a higher distribution rate than we are able to pay, which may increase our cost of capital, or they may sell our common shares and seek alternative investments that offer higher distribution rates. Sales of our common shares may cause a decline in the value of our common shares. • Amounts outstanding under our revolving credit facility require interest to be paid at floating interest rates. When interest rates increase, our interest costs will increase, which could adversely affect our cash flows, our ability to pay principal and interest on our debt, our cost of refinancing our fixed rate debts when they become due and our ability to make or sustain distributions to our shareholders. Additionally, if we choose to hedge our interest rate risk, we cannot be sure that the hedge will be effective or that our hedging counterparty will meet its obligations to us. • Property values are often determined, in part, based upon a capitalization of rental income formula. When market interest rates increase, property investors often demand higher capitalization rates and that causes property values to decline. Increases in interest rates could lower the value of our properties and cause the value of our securities to decline. 34 Table of Contents Ownership of real estate is subject to environmental risks and liabilities. Ownership of real estate is subject to risks associated with environmental hazards. Under various laws, owners as well as tenants of real estate may be required to investigate and clean up or remove hazardous substances present at or migrating from properties they own, lease or operate and may be held liable for property damage or personal injuries that result from hazardous substances. These laws also expose us to the possibility that we may become liable to government agencies or third parties for costs and damages they incur in connection with hazardous substances. The costs and damages that may arise from environmental hazards may be substantial and are difficult to assess and estimate for numerous reasons, including uncertainty about the extent of contamination, alternative treatment methods that may be applied, the location of the property which subjects it to differing local laws and regulations and their interpretations, as well as the time it may take to remediate contamination. In addition, these laws also impose various requirements regarding the operation and maintenance of properties and recordkeeping and reporting requirements relating to environmental matters that require us or the tenants of our properties to incur costs to comply with. While our leases with non-government tenants generally require our tenants to operate in compliance with applicable law and to indemnify us against any environmental liabilities arising from their activities on our properties, applicable law may make us subject to strict liability by virtue of our ownership interests. Also, our tenants may have insufficient financial resources to satisfy their indemnification obligations under our leases or they may resist doing so. The U.S. government is not required to indemnify us for environmental hazards they create at our properties and therefore could hold us liable for environmental hazards they create at our properties and we could have no recourse to them. We may incur substantial liabilities and costs for environmental matters. Ownership of real estate is subject to risks from adverse weather, natural disasters and climate events. Severe weather may have an adverse effect on certain properties we own. Flooding caused by rising sea levels and severe weather events, including hurricanes, tornadoes and widespread fires, may have an adverse effect on properties we own and result in significant losses to us and interruption of our business. When major weather, natural disasters or climate-related events, such as hurricanes, floods and wildfires, occur at or near our properties, our tenants may need to suspend operations of the impacted property until the event has ended and the property is then ready for operation. We or the tenants of our properties may incur significant costs and losses as a result of these activities, both in terms of operating, preparing and repairing our properties in anticipation of, during and after a severe weather or climate-related event and in terms of potential lost business due to the interruption in operating our properties. Our insurance and our tenants’ insurance may not adequately compensate us or them for these costs and losses. Also, concerns about climate change have resulted in various treaties, laws and regulations that are intended to limit carbon emissions and address other environmental concerns. These and other laws may cause energy or other costs at our properties to increase. Laws enacted to mitigate climate change may make some of our properties obsolete or cause us to make material investments in our properties, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition or the financial condition of our tenants and their ability to pay rent to us and cause the value of our properties to decline. In addition, concerns about climate change and increasing storm intensities may increase the cost of insurance for our properties or potentially render it unavailable to obtain. Bankruptcy law may adversely impact us. The occurrence of a tenant bankruptcy could reduce the rent we receive from that tenant. In addition, the continued existence of the COVID-19 pandemic may increase the risk of our tenants filing for bankruptcy. If a tenant becomes bankrupt, federal law may prohibit us from evicting that tenant based solely upon its bankruptcy. In addition, a bankrupt tenant may be authorized to reject and terminate its lease with us. Any claims against a bankrupt tenant for unpaid future rent would be subject to statutory limitations that may be substantially less than the contractually specified rent we are owed under the lease, and any claim we have for unpaid past rent, may not be paid in full. Real estate construction and redevelopment creates risks. We may develop new properties or redevelop some of our existing properties as the existing leases expire, as our tenants’ needs change or to pursue any other opportunities that we believe are desirable. The development and redevelopment of new and existing buildings involves significant risks in addition to those involved in the ownership and operation of leased properties, including the risks that construction may not be completed on schedule or within budget, resulting in increased construction costs and delays in leasing such properties and generating cash flows. Development activities are also subject to risks relating to the inability to obtain, or delays in obtaining, all necessary zoning, land use, building, occupancy, and other required government permits and authorizations. Once completed, any new properties may perform below anticipated financial results. The occurrence of one or more of these circumstances in connection with our development or redevelopment activities could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the values of our properties. 35 Table of Contents RMR LLC relies on information technology and systems in its provision of services to us, and any material failure, inadequacy, interruption or security failure of that technology or those systems could materially and adversely affect us. RMR LLC relies on information technology and systems, including the Internet and cloud-based infrastructures, commercially available software and its internally developed applications, to process, transmit, store and safeguard information and to manage or support a variety of its business processes (including managing our building systems), including financial transactions and maintenance of records, which may include personal identifying information of employees and tenants and lease data. If these systems experience material security or other failures, inadequacies or interruptions of its information technology, we could incur material costs and losses and our operations could be disrupted as a result. Further, third party vendors could experience similar events with respect to their information technology and systems that impact the products and services they provide to RMR LLC or us. RMR LLC relies on commercially available systems, software, tools and monitoring, as well as its internally developed applications and internal procedures and personnel, to provide security for processing, transmitting, storing and safeguarding confidential tenant, customer and vendor information, such as personally identifiable information related to its employees and others and information regarding its and our financial accounts. RMR LLC takes various actions, and incurs significant costs, to maintain and protect the operation and security of its information technology and systems, including the data maintained in those systems. However, it is possible that these measures will not prevent the systems’ improper functioning or a compromise in security, such as in the event of a cyberattack or the improper disclosure of personally identifiable information. Security breaches, computer viruses, attacks by hackers, online fraud schemes and similar breaches can create significant system disruptions, shutdowns, fraudulent transfer of assets or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. Our cybersecurity risks are heightened by, among other things, the evolving nature of the threats faced, advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography and new and increasingly sophisticated methods used to perpetrate illegal or fraudulent activities, including cyberattacks, email or wire fraud and other attacks exploiting security vulnerabilities in RMR LLC’s or other third parties’ information technology networks and systems or operations. Any failure to maintain the security, proper function and availability of RMR LLC’s information technology and systems, or certain third party vendors’ failure to similarly protect their information technology and systems that are relevant to RMR LLC’s or our operations, or to safeguard RMR LLC’s or our business processes, assets and information could result in financial losses, interrupt our operations, damage our reputation, cause us to be in default of material contracts and subject us to liability claims or regulatory penalties, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business and the value of our securities. Insurance may not adequately cover our losses, and insurance costs may continue to increase. We or our tenants are responsible for the costs of insurance, including for casualty, liability, fire, extended coverage and rental or business interruption loss insurance. In the past few years, we have experienced increases in the costs of providing such insurance, and these increased costs have had an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In the future, we may acquire additional properties for which we are responsible for the costs of insurance. Losses of a catastrophic nature, such as those caused by hurricanes, flooding, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, among other things, losses as a result of outbreaks of pandemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic, or losses from terrorism, may be covered by insurance policies with limitations such as large deductibles or co-payments that we or a responsible tenant may not be able to pay. Insurance proceeds may not be adequate to restore an affected property to its condition prior to a loss or to compensate us for our losses, including the loss of future revenues from an affected property. Similarly, our other insurance, including our general liability insurance, may not provide adequate insurance to cover our losses. In addition, we do not have any insurance to limit losses that we may incur as a result of known or unknown environmental conditions. Further, we cannot be sure that certain types of risks that are currently insurable will continue to be insurable on an economically feasible basis, and we may discontinue, or agree to a tenant discontinuing, certain insurance coverage on some or all of our properties in the future if we determine that the cost of premiums for any of these policies exceeds the value of the coverage. If an uninsured loss or a loss in excess of insured limits occurs and if we are not able to recover amounts from our applicable tenants for those losses, we may have to incur uninsured costs to mitigate such losses or lose all or a portion of the capital invested in a property, as well as the anticipated future revenue from the property. We might also remain obligated for any financial obligations related to the property, even if the property is irreparably damaged. In addition, future changes in the insurance industry’s risk assessment approach and pricing structure could further increase the cost of insuring our properties or decrease the scope of insurance coverage, either of which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and ability to pay distributions to our shareholders. A prolonged U.S. government shutdown may adversely impact our business and cash position. Under our leases with the U.S. government, the tenants pay us rent monthly in arrears. If the U.S. government experiences a prolonged shutdown, these tenants may not pay us rent during the pendency of the shutdown. Although we expect that these tenants would pay us any outstanding rents after the shutdown ends, our available cash and leverage targets may be adversely 36 Table of Contents impacted during the period we do not receive rents from these tenants. In addition, the impact of a prolonged government shutdown on government personnel resources could hinder our ability to renew expiring leases or initiate or complete renovation, construction and other capital maintenance of the affected properties. During the pendency of any shutdown, we may need to borrow amounts under our revolving credit facility or seek alternative financing, which we may not be able to receive timely or on reasonable terms. A failure to receive rents from our government tenants during a government shutdown may impair our ability to fund our operations and investments, pay our debt obligations, make capital expenditures and pay distributions to our shareholders. Moreover, some of our tenants are government contractors that rely on government business. If a government shutdown results in our government contractor tenants not paying us rent, the negative impact on us from a government shutdown may be compounded. Risks Related to Our Relationships with RMR LLC We are dependent upon RMR LLC to manage our business and implement our growth strategy. We have no employees. Personnel and services that we require are provided to us by RMR LLC pursuant to our management agreements with RMR LLC. Our ability to achieve our business objectives depends on RMR LLC and its ability to effectively manage our properties, to appropriately identify and complete our acquisitions and dispositions and to execute our growth strategy. Accordingly, our business is dependent upon RMR LLC’s business contacts, its ability to successfully hire, train, supervise and manage its personnel and its ability to maintain its operating systems. If we lose the services provided by RMR LLC or its key personnel, our business and growth prospects may decline. We may be unable to duplicate the quality and depth of management available to us by becoming internally managed or by hiring another manager. In the event RMR LLC is unwilling or unable to continue to provide management services to us, our cost of obtaining substitute services may be greater than the fees we pay RMR LLC under our management agreements, and as a result our expenses may increase. RMR LLC has broad discretion in operating our day to day business. Our manager, RMR LLC, is authorized to follow broad operating and investment guidelines and, therefore, has discretion in identifying the properties that will be appropriate investments for us, as well as our individual operating and investment decisions. Our Board of Trustees periodically reviews our operating and investment guidelines and our operating activities and investments but it does not review or approve each decision made by RMR LLC on our behalf. In addition, in conducting periodic reviews, our Board of Trustees relies primarily on information provided to it by RMR LLC. RMR LLC may exercise its discretion in a manner that results in investment returns that are substantially below expectations or that results in losses. Our management structure and agreements and relationships with RMR LLC and RMR LLC’s and its controlling shareholder’s relationships with others may create conflicts of interest, or the perception of such conflicts, and may restrict our investment activities. RMR LLC is a majority-owned subsidiary of RMR Inc. The Chair of our Board of Trustees and one of our Managing Trustees, Adam Portnoy, as the sole trustee of ABP Trust, is the controlling shareholder of RMR Inc. and is a managing director and the president and chief executive officer of RMR Inc. and an officer and employee of RMR LLC. RMR LLC or its subsidiary also acts as the manager to four other Nasdaq listed REITs: ILPT, which owns industrial and logistics properties; DHC, which primarily owns senior living communities, medical office and life science buildings and other healthcare related properties; SVC, which owns a diverse portfolio of hotels and net lease service and necessity-based retail properties; and TRMT, which focuses on originating and investing in first mortgage whole loans secured by middle market and transitional commercial real estate. RMR LLC also provides services to other publicly and privately owned companies, including: Five Star, which operates senior living communities and provides rehabilitation and wellness services; TA, which operates and franchises travel centers, standalone truck service facilities and restaurants; and Sonesta, which operates, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and cruise boats. A subsidiary of RMR LLC is an investment adviser to RMRM, which recently converted from a registered investment company to a publicly traded mortgage REIT. Mr. Portnoy serves as chair of the board of trustees or board of directors, as applicable, of DHC, ILPT, SVC, Five Star and TA and as managing director, managing trustee, director or trustee, as applicable, of the companies managed by RMR LLC or its subsidiaries. Christopher Bilotto, our President and Chief Operating Officer, and Matthew Brown, our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, are also officers and employees of RMR LLC and David Blackman, our other Managing Trustee and, until December 31, 2020, our President and Chief Executive Officer, is also an employee of RMR LLC. Messrs. Bilotto, Brown and Blackman have duties to RMR LLC, as well as to us, and we do not have their undivided attention. They and other RMR LLC personnel may have conflicts in allocating their time and resources between us and RMR LLC and other companies to which RMR LLC or its subsidiaries provide services. Some of our Independent Trustees also serve as independent directors or independent trustees of other public companies to which RMR LLC or its subsidiaries provide management services. 37 Table of Contents In addition, we may in the future enter into additional transactions with RMR LLC, its affiliates, or entities managed by it or its subsidiaries. In addition to his investments in RMR Inc. and RMR LLC, Adam Portnoy holds equity investments in other companies to which RMR LLC or its subsidiaries provide management services and some of these companies have significant cross ownership interests, including, for example: as of December 31, 2020, Mr. Portnoy beneficially owned, in aggregate, 1.5% of our outstanding common shares, 6.3% of Five Star’s outstanding common stock (including through ABP Trust), 1.2% of ILPT’s outstanding common shares, 1.1% of DHC’s outstanding common shares, 2.3% of RMRM’s outstanding common shares, 1.1% of SVC’s outstanding common shares, 4.5% of TA’s outstanding common shares (including through RMR LLC) and 19.4% of TRMT’s outstanding common shares (including through Tremont Realty Advisors LLC). Our executive officers may also own equity investments in other companies to which RMR LLC or its subsidiaries provide management services. These multiple responsibilities, relationships and cross ownerships may give rise to conflicts of interest or the perception of such conflicts of interest with respect to matters involving us, RMR Inc., RMR LLC, our Managing Trustees, the other companies to which RMR LLC or its subsidiaries provide management services and their related parties. Conflicts of interest or the perception of conflicts of interest could have a material adverse impact on our reputation, business and the market price of our common shares and other securities and we may be subject to increased risk of litigation as a result. In our management agreements with RMR LLC, we acknowledge that RMR LLC may engage in other activities or businesses and act as the manager to any other person or entity (including other REITs) even though such person or entity has investment policies and objectives similar to our policies and objectives and we are not entitled to preferential treatment in receiving information, recommendations and other services from RMR LLC. Accordingly, we may lose investment opportunities to, and may compete for tenants with, other businesses managed by RMR LLC or its subsidiaries. We cannot be sure that our Code of Conduct or our governance guidelines, or other procedural protections we adopt will be sufficient to enable us to identify, adequately address or mitigate actual or alleged conflicts of interest or ensure that our transactions with related persons are made on terms that are at least as favorable to us as those that would have been obtained with an unrelated person. Our management agreements with RMR LLC were not negotiated on an arm’s length basis and their fee and expense structure may not create proper incentives for RMR LLC, which may increase the risk of an investment in our common shares. As a result of our relationships with RMR LLC and its current and former controlling shareholder(s), our management agreements with RMR LLC were not negotiated on an arm’s length basis between unrelated parties, and therefore, while such agreements were negotiated with the use of a special committee and disinterested Trustees, the terms, including the fees payable to RMR LLC, may not be as favorable to us as they would have been if they were negotiated on an arm’s length basis between unrelated parties. Our property management fees are calculated based on rents we receive and construction supervision fees for construction at our properties overseen and managed by RMR LLC, and our base business management fee is calculated based upon the lower of the historical costs of our real estate investments and our market capitalization. We pay RMR LLC substantial base management fees regardless of our financial results. These fee arrangements could incentivize RMR LLC to pursue acquisitions, capital transactions, tenancies and construction projects or to avoid disposing of our assets in order to increase or maintain its management fees and might reduce RMR LLC’s incentive to devote its time and effort to seeking investments that provide attractive returns for us. If we do not effectively manage our investment, disposition and capital transactions and leasing, construction and other property management activities, we may pay increased management fees without proportional benefits to us. In addition, we are obligated under our management agreements to reimburse RMR LLC for employment and related expenses of RMR LLC’s employees assigned to work exclusively or partly at our properties, our share of the wages, benefits and other related costs of RMR LLC’s centralized accounting personnel and our share of RMR LLC’s costs for providing our internal audit function. We are also required to pay for third party costs incurred with respect to us. Our obligation to reimburse RMR LLC for certain of its costs and to pay third party costs may reduce RMR LLC’s incentive to efficiently manage those costs, which may increase our costs. The termination of our management agreements with RMR LLC may require us to pay a substantial termination fee, including in the case of a termination for unsatisfactory performance, which may limit our ability to end our relationship with RMR LLC. The terms of our management agreements with RMR LLC automatically extend on December 31 of each year so that such terms thereafter end on the 20th anniversary of the date of the extension. We have the right to terminate these agreements: (1) at any time on 60 days’ written notice for convenience, (2) immediately upon written notice for cause, as defined in the agreements, (3) on written notice given within 60 days after the end of any applicable calendar year for a performance reason, as defined in the agreements, and (4) by written notice during the 12 months following a manager change of control, as defined in the agreements. However, if we terminate a management agreement for convenience, or if RMR LLC terminates a management agreement with us for good reason, as defined in such agreement, we are obligated to pay RMR LLC a termination 38 Table of Contents fee in an amount equal to the sum of the present values of the monthly future fees, as defined in the applicable agreement, payable to RMR LLC for the term that was remaining before such termination, which, depending on the time of termination, would be between 19 and 20 years. Additionally, if we terminate a management agreement for a performance reason, as defined in the agreement, we are obligated to pay RMR LLC the termination fee calculated as described above, but assuming a remaining term of 10 years. These provisions substantially increase the cost to us of terminating the management agreements without cause, which may limit our ability to end our relationship with RMR LLC as our manager. The payment of the termination fee could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, including our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders. Our management arrangements with RMR LLC may discourage a change of control of us. Our management agreements with RMR LLC have continuing 20 year terms that renew annually. As noted in the preceding risk factor, if we terminate either of these management agreements other than for cause or upon a change of control of our manager, we are obligated to pay RMR LLC a substantial termination fee. For these reasons, our management agreements with RMR LLC may discourage a change of control of us, including a change of control which might result in payment of a premium for our common shares. We are and have been party to transactions with related parties that may increase the risk of allegations of conflicts of interest, and such allegations may impair our ability to realize the benefits we expect from these transactions. We are and have been party to transactions with related parties, including with entities controlled by Adam Portnoy or to which RMR LLC or its subsidiaries provide or provided management services. Our agreements with related parties or in respect of transactions among related parties may not be or have been on terms as favorable to us as they would have been if they had been negotiated among unrelated parties. We are subject to the risk that our shareholders or the shareholders of RMR Inc. or other related parties may challenge any such related party transactions and the agreements entered into as part of them. If such a challenge were to be successful, we might not realize the benefits expected from the transactions being challenged. Moreover, any such challenge could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention, could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business and growth and could adversely affect our ability to realize the benefits expected from the transactions, whether or not the allegations have merit or are substantiated. We may be at an increased risk for dissident shareholder activities due to perceived conflicts of interest arising from our management structure and relationships. Companies with business dealings with related persons and entities may more often be the target of dissident shareholder trustee nominations, dissident shareholder proposals and shareholder litigation alleging conflicts of interest in their business dealings. Our relationships with RMR LLC, the other companies to which RMR LLC or its subsidiaries provide management services, Adam Portnoy and other related persons of RMR LLC have precipitated and may precipitate such activities. Certain proxy advisory firms which have significant influence over the voting by shareholders of public companies have in the past recommended, and in the future may recommend, that shareholders withhold votes for the election of our incumbent Trustees, vote against our say on pay vote or other management proposals or vote for shareholder proposals that we oppose. These recommendations by proxy advisory firms in the future would likely affect the outcome of future Board of Trustees elections and votes on our say on pay, which may increase shareholder activism and litigation. These activities, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs, and diversion of our management’s attention and could have a material adverse impact on our reputation and business. Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure Ownership limitations and certain provisions in our declaration of trust, bylaws and agreements as well as certain provisions of Maryland law, may deter, delay or prevent a change in our control or unsolicited acquisition proposals. Our declaration of trust prohibits any shareholder, other than RMR LLC and its affiliates (as defined under Maryland law) and certain persons who have been exempted by our Board of Trustees, from owning, directly and by attribution, more than 9.8% of the number or value of shares (whichever is more restrictive) of any class or series of our outstanding shares of beneficial interest, including our common shares. This provision of our declaration of trust is intended to, among other purposes, assist with our REIT compliance under the IRC and otherwise promote our orderly governance. However, this provision may also inhibit acquisitions of a significant stake in us and may deter, delay or prevent a change in control of us or unsolicited acquisition proposals that a shareholder may consider favorable. Additionally, provisions contained in our 39 Table of Contents declaration of trust and bylaws or under Maryland law may have a similar impact, including, for example, provisions relating to: • the current division of our Trustees into classes until our 2023 annual meeting of shareholders, with three classes remaining with terms expiring in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively, (although effective at our 2021 annual meeting of shareholders, Trustees of the class of trustees whose term expires at that meeting or expires at a subsequent annual meeting of shareholders will be elected annually, with all of our Trustees being elected annually as of our 2023 annual meeting of shareholders, and with a majority of our current Trustees having terms expiring at our 2022 annual meeting of shareholders); • limitations on shareholder voting rights with respect to certain actions that are not approved by our Board of Trustees; • the authority of our Board of Trustees, and not our shareholders, to adopt, amend or repeal our bylaws and to fill vacancies on our Board of Trustees; • shareholder voting standards which require a supermajority of shares for approval of certain actions; • the fact that only our Board of Trustees, or, if there are no Trustees, our officers, may call shareholder meetings and that shareholders are not entitled to act without a meeting; • required qualifications for an individual to serve as a Trustee and a requirement that certain of our Trustees be “Managing Trustees” and other Trustees be “Independent Trustees,” as defined in our governing documents; • limitations on the ability of our shareholders to propose nominees for election as Trustees and propose other business to be considered at a meeting of our shareholders; • limitations on the ability of our shareholders to remove our Trustees; • the authority of our Board of Trustees to create and issue new classes or series of shares (including shares with voting rights and other rights and privileges that may deter a change in control) and issue additional common shares; • restrictions on business combinations between us and an interested shareholder that have not first been approved by our Board of Trustees (including a majority of Trustees not related to the interested shareholder); and • the authority of our Board of Trustees, without shareholder approval, to implement certain takeover defenses. As changes occur in the marketplace for corporate governance policies, the above provisions may change, be removed, or new ones may be added. Our rights and the rights of our shareholders to take action against our Trustees and officers are limited. Our declaration of trust limits the liability of our Trustees and officers to us and our shareholders for money damages to the maximum extent permitted under Maryland law. Under current Maryland law, our Trustees and officers will not have any liability to us and our shareholders for money damages other than liability resulting from: • actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services; or • active and deliberate dishonesty by the Trustee or officer that was established by a final judgment as being material to the cause of action adjudicated. Our declaration of trust authorizes us, and our bylaws and indemnification agreements require us, to indemnify, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, any present or former Trustee or officer who is made or threatened to be made a party to a proceeding by reason of his or her service in these and certain other capacities. In addition, we may be obligated to pay or reimburse the expenses incurred by our present and former Trustees and officers without requiring a preliminary determination of their ultimate entitlement to indemnification. As a result, we and our shareholders may have more limited rights against our present and former Trustees and officers than might otherwise exist absent the provisions in our declaration of trust, bylaws and indemnification agreements or that might exist with other companies, which could limit our shareholders’ recourse in the event of actions not in their best interest. 40 Table of Contents Shareholder litigation against us or our Trustees, officers, manager, other agents or employees may be referred to mandatory arbitration proceedings, which follow different procedures than in-court litigation and may be more restrictive to shareholders asserting claims than in-court litigation. Our shareholders agree, by virtue of becoming shareholders, that they are bound by our governing documents, including the arbitration provisions of our declaration of trust and bylaws, as they may be amended from time to time. Our governing documents provide that certain actions by one or more of our shareholders against us or any of our Trustees, officers, manager or other agents or employees, other than disputes, or any portion thereof, regarding the meaning, interpretation or validity of any provision of our declaration of trust or bylaws, will be referred to mandatory, binding and final arbitration proceedings if we, or any other party to such dispute, including any of our Trustees, officers, manager, other agents or employees unilaterally so demands. As a result, we and our shareholders would not be able to pursue litigation in state or federal court against us or our Trustees, officers, manager, other agents or employees, including, for example, claims alleging violations of federal securities laws or breach of fiduciary duties or similar director or officer duties under Maryland law, if we or any of our Trustees, officers, manager, other agents or employees against whom the claim is made unilaterally demands the matter be resolved by arbitration. Instead, our shareholders would be required to pursue such claims through binding and final arbitration. Our governing documents provide that such arbitration proceedings would be conducted in accordance with the procedures of the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, as modified in our bylaws. These procedures may provide materially more limited rights to our shareholders than litigation in a federal or state court. For example, arbitration in accordance with these procedures does not include the opportunity for a jury trial, document discovery is limited, arbitration hearings generally are not open to the public, there are no witness depositions in advance of arbitration hearings and arbitrators may have different qualifications or experiences than judges. In addition, although our governing documents’ arbitration provisions contemplate that arbitration may be brought in a representative capacity or on behalf of a class of our shareholders, the rules governing such representation or class arbitration may be different from, and less favorable to shareholders than, the rules governing representative or class action litigation in courts. Our governing documents also generally provide that each party to such an arbitration is required to bear its own costs in the arbitration, including attorneys’ fees, and that the arbitrators may not render an award that includes shifting of such costs or, in a derivative or class proceeding, award any portion of our award to any shareholder or such shareholder’s attorneys. The arbitration provisions of our governing documents may discourage our shareholders from bringing, and attorneys from agreeing to represent our shareholders wishing to bring, litigation against us or our Trustees, officers, manager, other agents or employees. Our agreements with RMR LLC have similar arbitration provisions to those in our governing documents. We believe that the arbitration provisions in our governing documents are enforceable under both state and federal law, including with respect to federal securities laws claims. We are a Maryland real estate investment trust and Maryland courts have upheld the enforceability of arbitration provisions in governing documents. In addition, the United States Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld agreements to arbitrate other federal statutory claims, including those that implicate important federal policies. However, some academics, legal practitioners and others are of the view that charter or bylaw provisions mandating arbitration are not enforceable with respect to federal securities laws claims. It is possible that the arbitration provisions of our governing documents may ultimately be determined to be unenforceable. By agreeing to the arbitration provisions of our governing documents, shareholders will not be deemed to have waived compliance by us with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Our bylaws designate the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland as the sole and exclusive forum for certain actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a judicial forum they deem favorable for disputes with us or our Trustees, officers, manager, agents or employees. Our bylaws currently provide that, unless the dispute has been referred to binding arbitration, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland will be the sole and exclusive forum for: (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (2) any action asserting a claim for breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any Trustee, officer, manager, agent or employee of ours to us or our shareholders; (3) any action asserting a claim against us or any Trustee, officer, manager, agent or employee of ours arising pursuant to Maryland law, our declaration of trust or bylaws brought by or on behalf of a shareholder, either on his, her or its own behalf, on our behalf or on behalf of any series or class of shares of beneficial interest of ours or shareholders against us or any Trustee, officer, manager, agent or employee of ours, including any disputes, claims or controversies relating to the meaning, interpretation, effect, validity, performance or enforcement of our declaration of trust or bylaws; or (4) any action asserting a claim against us or any Trustee, officer, manager, agent or employee of ours that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Our bylaws currently also provide that the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland will be the sole and exclusive forum for any dispute, or portion thereof, regarding the meaning, interpretation or validity of any provision of our declaration of trust or bylaws. The exclusive forum provision of our bylaws does not apply to any action for which the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland does not have jurisdiction or to a dispute that has been referred to binding arbitration in 41 Table of Contents accordance with our bylaws. The exclusive forum provision of our bylaws does not establish exclusive jurisdiction in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland for claims that arise under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other federal securities laws if there is exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction in the federal courts. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in our shares of beneficial interest shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to these provisions of our bylaws, as they may be amended from time to time. The arbitration and exclusive forum provisions of our bylaws may limit a shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that the shareholder believes is favorable for disputes with us or our Trustees, officers, manager, other agents or employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our Trustees, officers, manager, other agents or employees. SIR’s former bylaws had similar exclusive forum provisions to those in our bylaws. We may change our operational, financing and investment policies without shareholder approval and we may become more highly leveraged, which may increase our risk of default under our debt obligations. Our Board of Trustees determines our operational, financing and investment policies and may amend or revise our policies, including our policies with respect to our intention to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, acquisitions, dispositions, growth, operations, indebtedness, capitalization and distributions, or approve transactions that deviate from these policies, without a vote of, or notice to, our shareholders. Policy changes could adversely affect the market price of our common shares and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders. Further, our organizational documents do not limit the amount or percentage of indebtedness, funded or otherwise, that we may incur. Our Board of Trustees may alter or eliminate our current policy on borrowing at any time without shareholder approval. If this policy changes, we could become more highly leveraged, which could result in an increase in our debt service costs. Higher leverage also increases the risk of default on our obligations. In addition, a change in our investment policies, including the manner in which we allocate our resources across our portfolio or the types of assets in which we seek to invest, may increase our exposure to interest rate risk, real estate market fluctuations and liquidity risk. Risks Related to Our Taxation Our failure to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT under the IRC could have significant adverse consequences. As a REIT, we generally do not pay federal or most state income taxes as long as we distribute all of our REIT taxable income and meet other qualifications set forth in the IRC. However, actual qualification for taxation as a REIT under the IRC depends on our satisfying complex statutory requirements, for which there are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations. We believe that we have been organized and have operated, and will continue to be organized and to operate, in a manner that qualified and will continue to qualify us to be taxed as a REIT under the IRC. However, we cannot be sure that the IRS, upon review or audit, will agree with this conclusion. Furthermore, we cannot be sure that the federal government, or any state or other taxation authority, will continue to afford favorable income tax treatment to REITs and their shareholders. Maintaining our qualification for taxation as a REIT under the IRC will require us to continue to satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the nature of our assets, the sources of our income and the amounts we distribute to our shareholders. In order to meet these requirements, it may be necessary for us to sell or forgo attractive investments. If we cease to qualify for taxation as a REIT under the IRC, then our ability to raise capital might be adversely affected, we will be in breach under our credit agreement, we may be subject to material amounts of federal and state income taxes, our cash available for distribution to our shareholders could be reduced, and the market price of our common shares could decline. In addition, if we lose or revoke our qualification for taxation as a REIT under the IRC for a taxable year, we will generally be prevented from requalifying for taxation as a REIT for the next four taxable years. Distributions to shareholders generally will not qualify for reduced tax rates applicable to “qualified dividends.” Dividends payable by U.S. corporations to noncorporate shareholders, such as individuals, trusts and estates, are generally eligible for reduced federal income tax rates applicable to “qualified dividends.” Distributions paid by REITs generally are not treated as “qualified dividends” under the IRC and the reduced rates applicable to such dividends do not generally apply. However, for tax years beginning before 2026, REIT dividends paid to noncorporate shareholders are generally taxed at an effective tax rate lower than applicable ordinary income tax rates due to the availability of a deduction under the IRC for specified forms of income from passthrough entities. More favorable rates will nevertheless continue to apply to regular corporate “qualified” dividends, which may cause some investors to perceive that an investment in a REIT is less attractive than an investment in a non-REIT entity that pays dividends, thereby reducing the demand and market price of our common shares. 42 Table of Contents REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect us and our shareholders. We generally must distribute annually at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, subject to specified adjustments and excluding any net capital gain, in order to maintain our qualification for taxation as a REIT under the IRC. To the extent that we satisfy this distribution requirement, federal corporate income tax will not apply to the earnings that we distribute, but if we distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, then we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on our undistributed taxable income. We intend to make distributions to our shareholders to comply with the REIT requirements of the IRC. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we pay out to our shareholders in a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under federal tax laws. From time to time, we may generate taxable income greater than our income for financial reporting purposes prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, or differences in timing between the recognition of taxable income and the actual receipt of cash may occur. If we do not have other funds available in these situations, among other things, we may borrow funds on unfavorable terms, sell investments at disadvantageous prices or distribute amounts that would otherwise be invested in future acquisitions in order to make distributions sufficient to enable us to pay out enough of our taxable income to satisfy the REIT distribution requirement and to avoid corporate income tax and the 4% excise tax in a particular year. These alternatives could increase our costs or reduce our shareholders’ equity. Thus, compliance with the REIT distribution requirements may hinder our ability to grow, which could cause the market price of our common shares to decline. Even if we remain qualified for taxation as a REIT under the IRC, we may face other tax liabilities that reduce our cash flow. Even if we remain qualified for taxation as a REIT under the IRC, we may be subject to federal, state and local taxes on our income and assets, including taxes on any undistributed income, excise taxes, state or local income, property and transfer taxes, and other taxes. Also, some jurisdictions may in the future limit or eliminate favorable income tax deductions, including the dividends paid deduction, which could increase our income tax expense. In addition, in order to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the IRC, prevent the recognition of particular types of non-cash income, or avert the imposition of a 100% tax that applies to specified gains derived by a REIT from dealer property or inventory, we may hold or dispose of some of our assets and conduct some of our operations through our TRSs or other subsidiary corporations that will be subject to corporate level income tax at regular rates. In addition, while we intend that our transactions with our TRSs will be conducted on arm’s length bases, we may be subject to a 100% excise tax on a transaction that the IRS or a court determines was not conducted at arm’s length. Any of these taxes would decrease cash available for distribution to our shareholders. We may incur adverse tax consequences as a result of our merger and acquisition transactions. As a successor, we may face liability stemming from the tax liabilities (including penalties and interest) of the entities that we have acquired. These liabilities and our efforts to remedy any tax dispute relating to acquired entities could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Legislative or other actions affecting REITs could materially and adversely affect us and our shareholders. The rules dealing with U.S. federal, state, and local taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and other taxation authorities. Changes to the tax laws, with or without retroactive application, could materially and adversely affect us and our shareholders. We cannot predict how changes in the tax laws might affect us or our shareholders. New legislation, Treasury regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions could significantly and negatively affect our ability to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT or the tax consequences of such qualification to us and our shareholders. Risks Related to Our Securities Our distributions to our shareholders may be reduced or eliminated and the form of payment could change. We intend to continue to make regular quarterly distributions to our shareholders. However: • our ability to make or sustain the rate of distributions may be adversely affected if any of the risks described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K occur, including any negative impact caused by the prolonged duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath on our business, results of operations and liquidity; • our making of distributions is subject to restrictions contained in the agreements governing our debt and may be subject to restrictions in future debt obligations we may incur; during the continuance of any event of default under the 43 Table of Contents agreements governing our debt, we may be limited or in some cases prohibited from making distributions to our shareholders; and • the timing and amount of any distributions will be determined at the discretion of our Board of Trustees and will depend on various factors that our Board of Trustees deems relevant, including our FFO, our Normalized FFO, requirements to maintain our qualification for taxation as a REIT, limitations in our credit agreement and public debt covenants, the availability to us of debt and equity capital, our expectation of our future capital requirements and operating performance and our expected needs for and availability of cash to pay our obligations. For these reasons, among others, our distribution rate may decline or we may cease making distributions to our shareholders. Further, in order to preserve liquidity, we may elect to pay distributions to our shareholders in part in a form other than cash, such as issuing additional common shares of ours to our shareholders, as permitted by the applicable tax rules. Changes in market conditions could adversely affect the value of our securities. As with other publicly traded equity securities and REIT securities, the value of our common shares and other securities depends on various market conditions that are subject to change from time to time, including: • the extent of investor interest in our securities; • the general reputation of REITs and externally managed companies and the attractiveness of our equity securities in comparison to other equity securities, including securities issued by other real estate based companies or by other issuers less sensitive to rises in interest rates; • our underlying asset value; • investor confidence in the stock and bond markets, generally; • market interest rates; • national economic conditions; • changes in tax laws; • changes in our credit ratings; • general market conditions, including factors unrelated to our operating performance; and • perception of our environmental, social and governance policies relative to other companies. We believe that one of the factors that investors consider important in deciding whether to buy or sell equity securities of a REIT is the distribution rate, considered as a percentage of the price of the equity securities, relative to market interest rates. Interest rates have been at historically low levels for an extended period of time. There is a general market perception that REIT shares outperform in low interest rate environments and underperform in rising interest rate environments when compared to the broader market. The U.S. Federal Reserve has indicated that it does not expect to raise interest rates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and current market conditions until at least the end of 2023. There can be no assurance, however, that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not raise rates prior to that time. If the U.S. Federal Reserve increases interest rates or if there is a market expectation of such increases, prospective purchasers of REIT equity securities may want to achieve a higher distribution rate. Thus, higher market interest rates, or the expectation of higher interest rates, could cause the value of our securities to decline. Further issuances of debt or equity securities may adversely affect our shareholders. As a REIT, we generally will not be able to retain sufficient cash to fund our operations, repay our debts, invest in our properties and fund acquisitions and development or redevelopment efforts, and therefore, our ability to execute our business strategy depends on our access to an appropriate blend of debt financing, which may include secured and unsecured debt, and equity financing, which may include common and preferred shares. The interests of our existing shareholders could be diluted if we issue additional equity securities. In addition, if we decide in the future to issue debt or equity securities that rank senior to our common shares, it is likely that they will be governed by an indenture or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility. Also, any convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, 44 Table of Contents preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our common shares and may result in further dilution to our shareholders. Because our decision to issue debt or equity securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or even estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future capital offerings. Thus, our shareholders will bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of our common shares and diluting the value of their common shares. The Notes are structurally subordinated to the payment of all indebtedness and other liabilities and any preferred equity of our subsidiaries. We are the sole obligor on our outstanding senior unsecured notes, and our outstanding senior unsecured notes and any notes or other debt securities we may issue in the future, or, together with our outstanding senior unsecured notes, or the Notes, and such Notes are not, and any Notes we may issue in the future may not be guaranteed by any of our subsidiaries. Our subsidiaries are separate and distinct legal entities and have no obligation, contingent or otherwise, to pay any amounts due on the Notes, or to make any funds available therefor, whether by dividend, distribution, loan or other payments. The rights of holders of Notes to benefit from any of the assets of our subsidiaries are subject to the prior satisfaction of claims of our subsidiaries’ creditors and any preferred equity holders. As a result, the Notes are, and, except to the extent that future Notes are guaranteed by our subsidiaries, will be, structurally subordinated to all of the debt and other liabilities and obligations of our subsidiaries, including guarantees of other indebtedness of ours, payment obligations under lease agreements, trade payables and preferred equity. As of December 31, 2020, our subsidiaries had total indebtedness and other liabilities (excluding security and other deposits and guaranties) of $247.1 million. The Notes are unsecured and effectively subordinated to all of our existing and future secured indebtedness to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness. The outstanding Notes are not secured and any Notes we may issue in the future may not be secured. Upon any distribution to our creditors in a bankruptcy, liquidation, reorganization or similar proceeding relating to us or our property, the holders of our secured debt will be entitled to exercise the remedies available to a secured lender under applicable law and pursuant to the instruments governing such debt and to be paid in full from the assets securing that secured debt before any payment may be made with respect to Notes that are not secured by those assets. In that event, because such Notes will not be secured by any of our assets, it is possible that there will be no assets from which claims of holders of such Notes can be satisfied or, if any assets remain, that the remaining assets will be insufficient to satisfy those claims in full. If the value of such remaining assets is less than the aggregate outstanding principal amount of such Notes and accrued interest and all future debt ranking equally with such Notes, we will be unable to fully satisfy our obligations under such Notes. In addition, if we fail to meet our payment or other obligations under our secured debt, the holders of that secured debt would be entitled to foreclose on our assets securing that secured debt and liquidate those assets. Accordingly, we may not have sufficient funds to pay amounts due on such Notes. As a result, noteholders may lose a portion or the entire value of their investment in such Notes. Further, the terms of the outstanding Notes permit, and the terms of any Notes we may issue in the future may permit us to incur additional secured indebtedness subject to compliance with certain debt ratios. The Notes that are not secured will be effectively subordinated to any such additional secured indebtedness. As of December 31, 2020, we had $170.8 million in mortgage debt. There may be no public market for certain of the Notes, and one may not develop, be maintained or be liquid. We have not applied for listing of certain of the Notes on any securities exchange or for quotation on any automatic dealer quotation system, and we may not do so for Notes issued in the future. We cannot be sure that the liquidity of any market that may develop for such Notes, the ability of any holder to sell such Notes or the price at which holders would be able to sell such Notes. If a market for such Notes does not develop, holders may be unable to resell such Notes for an extended period of time, if at all. If a market for such Notes does develop, it may not continue or it may not be sufficiently liquid to allow holders to resell such Notes. Consequently, holders of the Notes may not be able to liquidate their investment readily, and lenders may not readily accept such Notes as collateral for loans. The Notes may trade at a discount from their initial issue price or principal amount, depending upon many factors, including prevailing interest rates, the ratings assigned by rating agencies, the market for similar securities and other factors, including general economic conditions and our financial condition, performance and prospects. Any decline in market prices, regardless of cause, may adversely affect the liquidity and trading markets for the Notes. A downgrade in credit ratings could materially adversely affect the market price of the Notes and may increase our cost of capital. The outstanding Notes are rated by two rating agencies and any Notes we may issue in the future may be rated by one or more rating agencies. These credit ratings are continually reviewed by rating agencies and may change at any time based upon, 45 Table of Contents among other things, our results of operations and financial condition. Negative changes in the ratings assigned to our debt securities could have an adverse effect on the market price of the Notes and our cost and availability of capital, including the interest rate on our revolving credit facility, which could in turn have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations. Redemption may adversely affect noteholders’ return on the Notes. We have the right to redeem some or all of the outstanding Notes prior to maturity and may have such a right with respect to any Notes we issue in the future. We may redeem such Notes at times when prevailing interest rates may be relatively low compared to the interest rate of such Notes. Accordingly, noteholders may not be able to reinvest the redemption proceeds in a comparable security at an effective interest rate as high as that of the Notes. Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments None. 46 Table of Contents