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Commercial building, landlord issues, what are my rights?

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Number21

Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? OR

Recently moved my business into a large 100 year old warehouse. Signed 1 year rental agreement in September, nice sunny weather. Come October, it rains inside. This won't be an easy repair, the place is enormous, and the roof is 50 feet off the ground.

Landlord claims he doesn't have the money to fix the roof. Not my problem. Owner is a millionaire so I find that hard to believe.

Landlord is a crazy old man. The stories I've been told from the last tenant is that he does what he wants whether it is legal or not. Frequently lets himself into the building. Today I found that somebody had been inside, and moved some things around. I don't know who or why.

What are my rights here?
Is the landlord required to ask me/tell me before entering a commercial building? Is he ever allowed to move my things?
What can I do if he does not fix the roof? Stop paying rent? Pay to an escrow account instead of the landlord?
 


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Number21

Member
Just to be clear, none of this is specified in the rental agreement. It only states the address, the amount for rent, when it is due, and where it goes.
 
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FarmerJ

Senior Member
Last but huge huge BIG thing here ? is there any language in the lease any where that says who is to pay for repairs? if its not you then by all means start out with certified letter stating what you know, the roof leaks, it needs repairs. If the LL wont address it then Id say you might have fair odds to argue in a court that if the lease does not say you are to pay for the repairs then it must be the LL. Yes and Do install security cameras that will record all entry to the space you rent.
 
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latigo

Senior Member
Number21 said:
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? OR

Recently moved my business into a large 100 year old warehouse. Signed 1 year rental agreement in September, nice sunny weather. Come October, it rains inside. This won't be an easy repair, the place is enormous, and the roof is 50 feet off the ground.

Landlord claims he doesn't have the money to fix the roof. Not my problem. Owner is a millionaire so I find that hard to believe.

Landlord is a crazy old man. The stories I've been told from the last tenant is that he does what he wants whether it is legal or not. Frequently lets himself into the building. Today I found that somebody had been inside, and moved some things around. I don't know who or why.

What are my rights here?
Is the landlord required to ask me/tell me before entering a commercial building? Is he ever allowed to move my things?
What can I do if he does not fix the roof? Stop paying rent? Pay to an escrow account instead of the landlord?
Click to expand...
What are your rights here?

Well, unfortunately the answer to that question is more complicated than it might appear. Meaning whether or not you have the legal right to withhold rent and walk away because the landlord refused to repair the roof.

I will try to explain, but you must rely on the advice of your Oregon attorney. With whom you must consult before doing anything.

To begin you tell us that the lease is silent on the issue of who is responsible to keep the building’s basic structures in good repair.

So, the first question your attorney needs to determine is whether or not under Oregon law there is an implied covenant in a commercial lease (as distinguished from a residential lease) requiring the landlord to maintain the roof.

In other words, even though it is not expressed in the lease itself, can/will an Oregon court impose an implied agreement on the part of the landlord to maintain the roof?

But even assuming so, the question then becomes what you as the tenant can legally do about it? Ergo, your question, “What are my rights””

And this is where the issue really gets cloudy and why you must rely on an Oregon attorney that is wisely acquainted with Oregon landlord tenant law.
.____________________

Briefly what you can legal do or not do rests on whether Oregon follows the common law rule of “independent covenants” with regard to commercial leases. “Independent” in the sense that the duty to pay rent is separate from the landlord’s duty to maintain the roof.

And if Oregon does adhere to the common law rule, then you cannot legally terminate the lease. In other words, the landlord’s breach of his duty to maintain the roof would not result in what is known as “constructive eviction”.

On the other hand, if the Oregon courts have adopted the rule of “mutually dependent covenants” * your duty to perform your lease commitments would be conditioned (dependent) upon the landlord performing his agreements.

But again, before any rule can be applied there must first be a finding that the lease agreement contains a promise on part of the landlord, express or implied, to keep the roof in good repair.
_________________


[*]The rule of mutually dependent covenants is reflected in the American Law Institute's Restatement (Second) of Property (Landlord and Tenant), section 7.1 (1997). which states:

“Except to the extent that the parties to a lease validly agree otherwise, if the landlord failed to perform a valid promise contained in the lease … and as a consequence thereof, the tenant is deprived of a significant inducement to the making of the lease, and if the landlord does not perform his promise within a reasonable amount of time after being requested to do so, the tenant may terminate the lease.”.
 
N

Number21

Member
FarmerJ said:
is there any language in the lease any where that says who is to pay for repairs?
Click to expand...
No, nothing. It's just a half page of handwriting that says I will pay X rent to Y address at Z time for 1 year.

It's actually kind of weird, he's the largest land owner in the county. He has many other rentals, mostly residential. He should know better. I thought he was just a clueless old man when I first met him. I'm not sure why he hasn't yet learned to write better rental agreements. He also gave me no rules or requirements for the property. I get the feeling he is a slumlord.

I am not interested in breaking the lease. If I have to move again before 1 year is up I will take him to court for moving costs and time lost. I will start with a certified letter explaining the problem, what I want done, and what I'll do if he doesn't. Maybe I just need to be more firm with him, I don't know. There is another small office in the corner of my warehouse he rents separately, which has the same leaky roof, so I'm going to gang up with them.

If I decide to stop paying rent, should I pay it into some kind of escrow account or something?
 
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STEPHAN

STEPHAN

Senior Member
You cannot stop paying rent before you have even officially notified him (certified letter) of the problem and given him time to fix it. (No saying that I am convinced that he even is responsible.)

How is the property described in the rental contract? How do you separate it from the little office if there is no specific wording?
 
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Number21

Member
STEPHANKOENIG said:
How is the property described in the rental contract? How do you separate it from the little office if there is no specific wording?
Click to expand...
"Warehouse at address". (and the office has a separate driveway/entrance)

I would think a normal person would define a "warehouse" as a dry space where you store things...right?
 
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Number21

Member
If it is not stated anywhere in my lease that the landlord has access to the building, do I need to give it to him? Can I change the locks?
 
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