Commercial Property Tenant Dies

[Lewisberry]

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

 

[Lewisberry]

Pa commercial property tenant dies

Tenant dies was on a month to month with a pizza shop with me (landlord) tenant also has a lease agreement with someone for which he is behind in payments. Kids are trying to keep Pizza Shop open but cannot pay me and are having second thoughts on keeping it open
Can I put locks on doors, I'm afraid if I give them notice they will destroy the pizza shop
What can I do leagly do?

 

[justalayman]

Do you own the pizza shop, including any and all commercial fixtures?


Was your tenant a single individual or a business entity?


How delinquent is the rent?

 

[Lewisberry]

We own building but not fixtures
Single individual
Only owes for this month (February)
But 2 months behind in lease agreement
Maybe more, will be talking to lease agreement person tomorrow

 

[LdiJ]

We own building but not fixtures
Single individual
Only owes for this month (February)
But 2 months behind in lease agreement
Maybe more, will be talking to lease agreement person tomorrow

You and the lease agreement people cannot collude. You should not be talking to each other at all.

You certainly have no right whatsoever to lock out tenants who are only two days late on rent. In fact, you cannot lock anyone out until a court of law says that you can. Locking out tenants is an illegal eviction.

 

[Lewisberry]

The tenant died, there is no tenant, tenant kids are trying to keep it open and cannot
They told me they can't pay me, so how can they operate a business in my building
that I owe without a lease that they won't sign
since their dad passed
I know the lease agreement holder bc he was my previous tenant on the Pizza Shop, doesn't he own it now the lease reverts back to him as owner, bc the desased has not paid him in months? The previous tenant (lease agreement) does not want it back

 

[FarmerJ]

Your post has me a bit confused , you wrote >I know the lease agreement holder bc he was my previous tenant on the Pizza Shop, doesn't he own it now the lease reverts back to him as owner< does this mean that your original lease holder is still valid with the gentlemen who sold just the business to the one who passed away ? ( a sub let ? If this was a sublet so and you did not get a whole new lease with the party who died then is there a reason you would not begin to evict naming the person who originally had the business ? BTW exactly what does your lease say about eviction since residential eviction related laws would not apply ?

 

[Lewisberry]

No Sublet
The lease is a month to month, so tenant dies
a week ago, so as the property owner what do I do, the tenant ( the guy that passed) could not get a loan to buy business so he had a sell agreement done
and he pays me rent after one year on the lease it went to a month to month

 

[quincy]

No Sublet
The lease is a month to month, so tenant dies
a week ago, so as the property owner what do I do, the tenant ( the guy that passed) could not get a loan to buy business so he had a sell agreement done
and he pays me rent after one year on the lease it went to a month to month

A month to month commercial lease?

 

[Lewisberry]

Lewisberry

Yes a commercial lease

 

[justalayman]

The tenant died, there is no tenant, tenant kids are trying to keep it open and cannot
They told me they can't pay me, so how can they operate a business in my building
that I owe without a lease that they won't sign
since their dad passed
I know the lease agreement holder bc he was my previous tenant on the Pizza Shop, doesn't he own it now the lease reverts back to him as owner, bc the desased has not paid him in months? The previous tenant (lease agreement) does not want it back

Contracts do not terminate at death unless that is written into the contract.

 

[justalayman]

And who holds this lease and on what?

 

[quincy]

Yes a commercial lease

Okay. You are the property owner and you are the landlord.

The fellow who died had two agreements.

One agreement was with you. It was a commercial month to month lease on the physical space. The other agreement was with a previous tenant of yours who was selling his pizza business (and perhaps the equipment) to the fellow who died. This previous tenant no longer leases your property.

Is this correct?

Could you provide some clarification?

 

[Lewisberry]

But the rental lease is in the deceased persons name, how can there be a lease in a persons name that is not on this earth?
All I want to know is what my options are as far as being the property owner of a tenant
who is deceased and the kids cannot keep it open

 

[Lewisberry]

Okay. You are the property owner and you are the landlord.

The fellow who died had two agreements.

One agreement was with you. It was a commercial month to month lease on the physical space. The other agreement was with a previous tenant of yours who was selling his pizza business (and perhaps the equipment) to the fellow who died. This previous tenant no longer leases your property.

Is this correct?

Could you provide some clarification?

You are 100% correct
Finally someone gets it