Ohio.
We have had a tenant occupying one of our commercial buildings for the past 5 years. He was required to give a 90 day notice if not renewing his lease. Which he did...just shy of the 90 days. (no big deal to us). However, in his typical fashion, he had already moved out prior to giving us the notice.
His lease expired Dec. 31, 2017. He moved out Oct. 1, 2017; but he did honor his lease and pay rent through December.
November 28, 2017 I emailed him to let him know we wanted to go inside and begin doing any necessary repairs and painting; which was beyond normal wear and tear. He told me he preferred I wait and that he should have everything out by the end of the following week. We waited until December 22, 2017 and had a crew go inside and begin to patch holes in the walls, sand, paint, etc.
At no time did the tenant ever tell me that he intended on doing any repairs or painting. In fact, he had the gas and electric turned off Oct. 31 (without informing us).
It wasn't until he walked into the building on December 29, 2017 and saw the crew completing the work, that he told me that he planned on having a crew of 8 people come in on December 30 to do all the work. (I might add that is would take more than 2 days to complete what needed to be done). And beside that, how was he planning on painting, etc. if he had the utilities turned off?
So, now we want to charge him for the labor and materials and he said that he does not have to pay anything because we went in and did the work without his permission and while he was still under lease.
Besides patching and painting, there is also a man door and an overhead door with several dings in them (they were new when he moved in). Because they still operate fine, he doesn't believe he should be responsible for having them replaced.
He also installed 4 sets of 4 bolts into the cement floor, which need to be removed and the cement repaired. (he was operating a gym).
He also cut a hole in the ceiling to install some type of work-out apparatus; and the ceiling still needs to be repaired and returned to it's original condition.
All of this he believes he holds no responsibility for.
I welcome your opinion. Were we wrong in going in and doing the repairs and painting, prior to his lease expiring? And because we did, is he not responsible for the costs we incurred?
We have had a tenant occupying one of our commercial buildings for the past 5 years. He was required to give a 90 day notice if not renewing his lease. Which he did...just shy of the 90 days. (no big deal to us). However, in his typical fashion, he had already moved out prior to giving us the notice.
His lease expired Dec. 31, 2017. He moved out Oct. 1, 2017; but he did honor his lease and pay rent through December.
November 28, 2017 I emailed him to let him know we wanted to go inside and begin doing any necessary repairs and painting; which was beyond normal wear and tear. He told me he preferred I wait and that he should have everything out by the end of the following week. We waited until December 22, 2017 and had a crew go inside and begin to patch holes in the walls, sand, paint, etc.
At no time did the tenant ever tell me that he intended on doing any repairs or painting. In fact, he had the gas and electric turned off Oct. 31 (without informing us).
It wasn't until he walked into the building on December 29, 2017 and saw the crew completing the work, that he told me that he planned on having a crew of 8 people come in on December 30 to do all the work. (I might add that is would take more than 2 days to complete what needed to be done). And beside that, how was he planning on painting, etc. if he had the utilities turned off?
So, now we want to charge him for the labor and materials and he said that he does not have to pay anything because we went in and did the work without his permission and while he was still under lease.
Besides patching and painting, there is also a man door and an overhead door with several dings in them (they were new when he moved in). Because they still operate fine, he doesn't believe he should be responsible for having them replaced.
He also installed 4 sets of 4 bolts into the cement floor, which need to be removed and the cement repaired. (he was operating a gym).
He also cut a hole in the ceiling to install some type of work-out apparatus; and the ceiling still needs to be repaired and returned to it's original condition.
All of this he believes he holds no responsibility for.
I welcome your opinion. Were we wrong in going in and doing the repairs and painting, prior to his lease expiring? And because we did, is he not responsible for the costs we incurred?