Commercial Month to Month Lease Problems

[Adam Milfus]

What is the name of your state? California

We have a problem with our commercial space we lease month to month. Times are tough and we were late on rent. So the building office decides to turn off our electricity without a 3 day notice. This happened on more than 1 occasion. We never thought this was an illegal thing to do until recently.

The office did this about 3-4 time already equalling maybe 3 days total worth of work. (We are in the manufacturing business.) You can imagine we lost a lot of money and production in these days.

When I brought this up to her during a rent/deposit discussion today, she told me that there would no way I can prove it and told me to "go ahead and do whatever you want."

My employees know that there was never a notice and waited around in the dark until they turned it back on. Other tenants in my building has been victims or this same thing (cutting electricity without 3 day notice) but have never followed up to see if it was legal/illegal.

Now we just want to leave the building but there is a "30 days notice to vacate" on our month to month contract. I just want to get out of this hell-hole of a building before they screw us up even more. What is the best, most effective course of action in my case?

Thank you.What is the name of your state?

 

[FarmerJ]

Give them proper notice and if the power goes off again call the electric co and if they find it was shut off get a written report and save it in a safe place.

 

[Cvillecpm]

What FarmerJ said.....locate suitable replacement space and give your 30 day notice.

Not paying your rent in a commercial space where you have employees and their family dependent upon your keeping the doors open is a very BAD IDEA...paying your rent should be your FIRST PRIORITY.

 

[Adam Milfus]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I wrote my written notice today and gave it to them. I told her I was going to leave this weekend. She replied with "try it." Like she was going to somehow stop me from moving out.

Is there anyway she can prevent me from moving my machines out of the building before the 30 days are up? She threatened to either shut off the freight elevator or tell the freight elevator guy to not let us use the elevator.

Also, I put in a months worth of deposit ($2000). She told me today that we won't give me the deposit back. If we leave this week than we only owe 1/2 month rent so we should get $1000 back. Can she keep the rest of the deposit money?

 

[Zigner]

What makes you think you don't owe rent for that 30 days?
If rent is due on the first and you want to leave on April first, then you needed to give notice PRIOR to March first. If you give notice today (March, 12th) then you are obligated to stay there and pay rent until AT LEAST April 12th (if they are nice) or May 1st (if they are hard-nosed, as you say they are.

Granted...whether you leave now or not it totally your choice, but you are still obligated to pay the rent...

 

[Adam Milfus]

Okay Thanks for clearing that up.

So basically if they decide to, they can make us pay rent until May 1st.

But all the times they screwed our electricity just becomes like it never happened? I don't want to make this a messy situation, but it seems very unfair.

We just want to leave the damn place. Building management even told me to leave this week if we couldn't pay this months rent.

Would it be smart to go to court and fight this or would it be better to just pay until May (If they force us) and get the hell out? How can the law be in their favor when they screwed us so many times?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Zigner]

Okay Thanks for clearing that up.

So basically if they decide to, they can make us pay rent until May 1st.

But all the times they screwed our electricity just becomes like it never happened? I don't want to make this a messy situation, but it seems very unfair.

It's not right for them to shut off your electricity - but the time to deal with it was when it happened...