Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am a relative of the business owner/tenant, and am typing this for him. The business owner (I will call him Tenant from now on) in question is renting a commercial property in the state of Alabama for the purpose of conducting his retail business. Tenant and Landlord had signed a 1-year lease which is now expired. In said lease, certain promises were made in written and signed form. Landlord promised to do certain repairs, including repairing the leaky roof, among other repairs, which he in fact did not ever do. Landlord sent out one person who merely looked at the roof, but no repairs were done.
Now the lease is expired and Tenant does not want to sign another lease until promised repairs have been done. Tenant and Landlord are on an informal "month-to-month" arrangement with no signed lease in place at this time.
Landlord is a slumlord. The roof leaks and has been leaking for some time. There are termites still alive and eating the walls. Exterminator was hired years ago but he failed to kill all the termites, or the termites came back at some point.
Tenant is very afraid that if he tries to enforce written promises made by Landlord in previous now-expired lease, that Landlord will evict Tenant. Tenant cannot afford to be evicted; it would ruin him financially.
What can Tenant do to make Landlord do the promised repairs without being evicted? Tenant wants these repairs done but he does not want to fear retaliatory eviction. What can he do?
I am a relative of the business owner/tenant, and am typing this for him. The business owner (I will call him Tenant from now on) in question is renting a commercial property in the state of Alabama for the purpose of conducting his retail business. Tenant and Landlord had signed a 1-year lease which is now expired. In said lease, certain promises were made in written and signed form. Landlord promised to do certain repairs, including repairing the leaky roof, among other repairs, which he in fact did not ever do. Landlord sent out one person who merely looked at the roof, but no repairs were done.
Now the lease is expired and Tenant does not want to sign another lease until promised repairs have been done. Tenant and Landlord are on an informal "month-to-month" arrangement with no signed lease in place at this time.
Landlord is a slumlord. The roof leaks and has been leaking for some time. There are termites still alive and eating the walls. Exterminator was hired years ago but he failed to kill all the termites, or the termites came back at some point.
Tenant is very afraid that if he tries to enforce written promises made by Landlord in previous now-expired lease, that Landlord will evict Tenant. Tenant cannot afford to be evicted; it would ruin him financially.
What can Tenant do to make Landlord do the promised repairs without being evicted? Tenant wants these repairs done but he does not want to fear retaliatory eviction. What can he do?
Thank you.
he can't "make" the landlord do anything. He can tell the landlord that if the repairs are completed he will sign a lease, and that if they are not he will not sign the lease. But it seems he is staying there without the repairs being done, so what has the landlord to lose?
Why is he waiting in fear of being evicted, instead of taking the initiative and finding something better? Why does tenant not move out of this property and into another? One where the landlord will honor his commitments and keep the property properly maintained.
he can't "make" the landlord do anything. He can tell the landlord that if the repairs are completed he will sign a lease, and that if they are not he will not sign the lease. But it seems he is staying there without the repairs being done, so what has the landlord to lose?
Why is he waiting in fear of being evicted, instead of taking the initiative and finding something better? Why does tenant not move out of this property and into another? One where the landlord will honor his commitments and keep the property properly maintained.
Because Tenant has a lot to lose potentially.
1. Moving will cost Tenant $20,000. This is because of the type of business; certain things about the building will need to be modified and set up properly to meet certain codes so that everything is set up safely and legally.
2. If Tenant moves, he will very likely have to pay more in rent than he does now.
3. If Tenant moves, his customers may get confused and not be able to immediately find him; therefore, business may suffer for a 6 month period until the customers have "caught up" and figured out where the new location is.
4. Type of business is somewhat unique; city code grandfathered him in, and no new ones like it are allowed within city limits. If Tenant moves, he will need to be located outside of city limits; this could hurt business.
I am a relative of the business owner/tenant, and am typing this for him. The business owner (I will call him Tenant from now on) in question is renting a commercial property in the state of Alabama for the purpose of conducting his retail business. Tenant and Landlord had signed a 1-year lease which is now expired. In said lease, certain promises were made in written and signed form. Landlord promised to do certain repairs, including repairing the leaky roof, among other repairs, which he in fact did not ever do. Landlord sent out one person who merely looked at the roof, but no repairs were done.
Now the lease is expired and Tenant does not want to sign another lease until promised repairs have been done. Tenant and Landlord are on an informal "month-to-month" arrangement with no signed lease in place at this time.
Landlord is a slumlord. The roof leaks and has been leaking for some time. There are termites still alive and eating the walls. Exterminator was hired years ago but he failed to kill all the termites, or the termites came back at some point.
Tenant is very afraid that if he tries to enforce written promises made by Landlord in previous now-expired lease, that Landlord will evict Tenant. Tenant cannot afford to be evicted; it would ruin him financially.
What can Tenant do to make Landlord do the promised repairs without being evicted? Tenant wants these repairs done but he does not want to fear retaliatory eviction. What can he do?
Thank you.
I assuming the landlord knows that the tenant cannot move without harsh consequences. There isn't really much to do besides
1. Sign a new lease with an agreement for the repairs to be done in X time.
2. Wait for the time to pass(because the landlord will probably not do them and take the tenant seriously).
3. Keep sending letters about the repairs so the landlord can't say the tenant waived his rights.
4. Do the repairs the tenant's self and then sue for reimbursement when the tenant has money to move.
The better option is just to sue now, but he doesn't want to do this. And if he sues the landlord can give him notice. Nothing to be done about that.
1. Moving will cost Tenant $20,000. This is because of the type of business; certain things about the building will need to be modified and set up properly to meet certain codes so that everything is set up safely and legally.
2. If Tenant moves, he will very likely have to pay more in rent than he does now.
3. If Tenant moves, his customers may get confused and not be able to immediately find him; therefore, business may suffer for a 6 month period until the customers have "caught up" and figured out where the new location is.
4. Type of business is somewhat unique; city code grandfathered him in, and no new ones like it are allowed within city limits. If Tenant moves, he will need to be located outside of city limits; this could hurt business.
How much do the repairs cost? Is the landlord willing to sign a longer term lease? Is the tenant? How easy is it for the landlord to rerent the space? I would have to amend my advice .
I really have nothing to add as I think what needs to be said has been said. As a caution to anybody else who finds themselves in this position, however, I should note that it's extremely rare to find a commercial lease of only one year's duration and it's very foolish to go into such a short lease for a commercial property. Five years should be (and is usually) the minimum term. Unfortunately the tenant in this case has no leverage at all, his investment in the property is worthless and little good can come of the situation.
I am not certain, and I can't even make an educated guess because I know next to nothing about remodeling/repairs/construction. There are many holes in the roof; probably over 20. It's a cement roof and it's very old. The walls that are currently home to live termites would need to be completely torn out and redone. And that would be after an exterminator were hired to kill the termites. The more I think about it, the more sure I am that this would go over $10k easily. Thankfully, these walls are not structural elements and are just there to separate space into rooms. But these rooms are vital to the function of the business.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdm2008
Is the landlord willing to sign a longer term lease? Is the tenant?
How does a longer lease protect Tenant? How does it in any way guarantee that Landlord would do what he promised? I don't see a benefit to a longer lease. It would certainly mean being trapped in a contract in which Tenant would be forced to pay rent while Landlord did not fulfill his obligations and state law would not force him to.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdm2008
How easy is it for the landlord to rerent the space? I would have to amend my advice .
Well, I am not sure, but he just had one tenant come and go in a period of just 3 months. Landlord is having a very hard time leasing out that one space. And there is a second space that is intermittently leased. But there has always been a tenant in the spot he is in now, as far as I know. If I had to guess I would say it would be fairly easy for the Landlord to get a new tenant, but I'd have to wonder how long that tenant would stay if the Landlord didn't fix the roof or termite problems...
Quote:
Originally Posted by STT Resident
I really have nothing to add as I think what needs to be said has been said. As a caution to anybody else who finds themselves in this position, however, I should note that it's extremely rare to find a commercial lease of only one year's duration and it's very foolish to go into such a short lease for a commercial property. Five years should be (and is usually) the minimum term. Unfortunately the tenant in this case has no leverage at all, his investment in the property is worthless and little good can come of the situation.
Why is 1 year a foolish idea? The state of Alabama does not offer any protection that I know of to tenants who's landlords are not maintaining the property. The state of Alabama does not allow the tenant to withhold rent under any circumstances, for example for "repair and deduct" (Ala. Code § 35-9A-164). The only remedy the tenant has in the state of Alabama is to give 14 days notice and break lease if the repairs are not done. That isn't really a very good remedy.
You do make a good point also about the investments. I suppose a longer lease is smart when one is putting investments into the property. But I've always thought that investments into rental property is a bad idea unless they generate a decent ROI.
Tenant has a lot to think about and I suppose the only solution for him will be to continue using the property until he is ready to move and then to sue when he moves out.
I assuming the landlord knows that the tenant cannot move without harsh consequences. There isn't really much to do besides
1. Sign a new lease with an agreement for the repairs to be done in X time.
2. Wait for the time to pass(because the landlord will probably not do them and take the tenant seriously).
3. Keep sending letters about the repairs so the landlord can't say the tenant waived his rights.
4. Do the repairs the tenant's self and then sue for reimbursement when the tenant has money to move.
The better option is just to sue now, but he doesn't want to do this. And if he sues the landlord can give him notice. Nothing to be done about that.
Is this remedy legal in the state of Alabama? Will Tenant win if he sues for repairs done that were not reimbursed (leaky roof)? I suppose Tenant should sit down with a lawyer who specializes in commercial rental property law.
Sounds like the tenant better sign another lease pronto before the landlord raises the rent.
Tenant needs to stay where he is, doesn't want to pay more rent, and is on a month to month agreement... I don't see the tenant in much of a position to demand anything here, without risking higher rent or eviction.
Why is 1 year a foolish idea? ...
You do make a good point also about the investments. I suppose a longer lease is smart when one is putting investments into the property. But I've always thought that investments into rental property is a bad idea unless they generate a decent ROI.
You unwittingly answered your own question. When you rent a residential property it's for living purposes and not for income revenue. Two entirely different animals. A commercial lease is not as protected as a residential lease. I'm sorry, but nobody in their right mind would rent a commercial property for a one year term. The investment required to outfit the space to one's needs isn't small and no business can expect a positive return in the first couple of years of business - at minimum. A one year lease does nothing for you. Precisely why the majority of commercial leases are for 5 years and up.
In my opinion your friend is pretty much up the creek with a floppy paper paddle. Yes, he should indeed sit down with a lawyer who specializes in commercial rental property. He should have done that in the first place.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
