The Responsibilities of Landlords When Effectively Evicting Commercial Tenants
Evicting someone from a commercial property is the right of a landlord, but only when there is a valid cause. Every commercial landlord has responsibilities under a lease; and these responsibilities promote justice and transparency for both the landlord and tenant. There are several steps and considerations in the eviction process.
Notices with Cause for Termination
There are three main reasons for which a commercial landlord may provide notice for termination to the tenant.
Failure To Pay Rent
When tenants fail to pay the rent, the landlord has valid cause to give an eviction notice. The tenant must then be given a certain number of days to pay the rent amount due before the tenant is to be evicted from the property.
Failure To Cure Rental Concerns And Violations
The landlord may give the notice to quit or cure if the tenant has committed a violation of the rental agreement. If the tenant has violated the terms of the rental agreement—for instance, no excessive noise or no pets—landlords have cause to file a notice for eviction. Given this, the tenants must cure their violation within a specified timeframe to avoid termination of the rental agreement.
Unconditional Quit Notices For Repeated Rental Violations Or Failure To Pay Rent
An unconditional quit notice is considered the harshest cause for eviction. This is where the tenants are pushed to evict the property given the cause to evict. This cause needs to meet the following conditions in court: repeated violations against the rental contract; damaged premises; late payments; and engagement with illegal activities inside the property.
Possible Tenant Defenses Against Eviction
Commercial landlords should be prepared for several possible defenses that tenants may raise against their eviction notice. Tenants can try to leverage loopholes in their lease agreements to counterclaim against their landlords. Or, the tenant may claim discrimination, retaliation, unprofessionalism, violence (either physical or verbal), or other offenses by the landlord.
Courts will consider the facts presented by both the tenant and landlord, evaluating their presented documents and evidence to determine whether or not there is a valid cause for eviction. It is the landlord’s responsibility to document and present every inch of evidence they have to bolster their case. If an eviction is granted, the landlord must abide by the terms mandated by the court, such as giving the tenant an adequate amount of time to vacate or providing refunds or pro-rated adjustments to the rental payment schedule.
Landlords Should Be Prepared by Hiring An Eviction Lawyer
Sometimes, tenants are unreasonable or unkind, refusing to vacate even when the landlord has valid cause to evict them. For every day, week, or month that a tenant fails to pay rent, the landlord loses rental income. The eviction may take not only weeks but also months, feeling endless. Once a tenant files for reconsideration, the case can be either delayed or dismissed. As such, it is best to work with a lawyer who specializes in eviction cases to minimize the stress and headache of trying to evict your difficult tenants. The sooner the eviction is successfully completed, the sooner you can rent to a new tenant.
If you are looking to evict a tenant from your rental property, call Eviction Lawyer Christopher Villasenor to help you with your next steps.
Call Us Today: 619-375-2956
Email Us: cvillasenor@sdlawfirm.net