8. Leases

The Company generally operates its restaurants in leased premises. Lease terms for traditional shopping center or building leases generally include combined initial and option terms of 20-25 years. Ground leases generally include combined initial and option terms of 30-40 years. The option terms in each of these leases are typically in five-year increments. Typically, the lease includes rent escalation terms every five years including fixed rent escalations, escalations based on inflation indexes, and fair market value adjustments. Certain leases contain contingent rental provisions based upon the sales of the underlying restaurants. The leases generally provide for the payment of common area maintenance, property taxes, insurance and various other use and occupancy costs by the Company. In addition, the Company is the lessee under non-cancelable leases covering certain offices.

Future minimum lease payments required under existing operating leases as of December 31, 2015 are as follows:



2016	$	239,683
2017		241,366
2018		244,698
2019		245,251
2020		239,933
Thereafter		2,257,081
Total minimum lease payments	$	3,468,012

Minimum lease payments have not been reduced by minimum sublease rentals of $6,217 due in the future under non-cancelable subleases.

Rental expense consists of the following:



	Year ended December 31,
	2015		2014		2013
Minimum rentals	$	227,602	$	200,575	$	178,395
Contingent rentals	$	4,542	$	4,616	$	2,719
Sublease rental income	$	(1,879)	$	(1,838)	$	(1,726)

The Company has six sales and leaseback transactions. These transactions do not qualify for sale leaseback accounting because of the Company’s deemed continuing involvement with the buyer-lessor due to fixed price renewal options, which results in the transaction being recorded under the financing method. Under the financing method, the assets remain on the consolidated balance sheet and the proceeds from the transactions are recorded as a financing liability. A portion of lease payments are applied as payments of deemed principal and imputed interest. The deemed landlord financing liability was $3,060 and $3,233 as of December 31, 2015, and 2014, respectively, with the current portion of the liability included in accrued liabilities, and the remaining portion included in other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet.