Commercial Lease Eviction in California & Texas
LloydWinter, P.C. offers skilled legal representation for commercial lease eviction cases throughout Texas and California. Our legal team successfully represents all types of clients, from large firms to small business owners.
We are experienced legal professionals dedicated to providing personalized services for every one of our business clients.
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Texas & California Commercial Lease Evictions
Commercial leases are regulated, but not nearly as regulated as residential leases. They can be incredibly complex. Before trying to evict a commercial tenant, it’s imperative that you get legal representation.
Likewise, don’t try to defend yourself against your landlord in a commercial lease eviction without a lawyer either. The process of commercial lease evictions will mostly depend on the lease agreement itself and the reasons the eviction is needed.
If you are facing a commercial eviction, trying to avoid a commercial eviction, involved with a commercial lease dispute, or need to evict a commercial tenant, we can help.
Evicting a Commercial Tenant in California
California law allows commercial tenants to be evicted for several reasons, including illegal use of the premises, failing to pay rent, and violating the terms of the commercial lease.
Giving Notice of Intent to Evict a Commercial Tenant
In California, landlords must issue any commercial tenant a three-day notice indicating that they plan to take legal action because of a lease breach before filing an unlawful detainer complaint to get the commercial eviction going. This gives the tenant the chance to fix the issue. Once the three-day period is up, then the landlord can begin the eviction process if the tenant didn’t get themselves into compliance within those three days.
Keep in mind though, sometimes, the language of commercial leases actually says that the tenant has a right to extended periods of notice depending on nature of the breach. Meanwhile, if your tenant has committed multiple different breaches of the lease, each breach might have a different requirement for notice. In a situation like this, you’d probably want to send proper notice on different days so that the final day of notice for each breach falls on the same day.
Following the Law as a Commercial Landlord
Many landlords do not realize that they must comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the full California Code of Civil Procedure. Just because a tenant owes you past due rent doesn’t mean you can take matters into your own hands. A commercial real estate attorney like those at LloydWinter, P.C. can help landlords understand their responsibilities and constraints.
Often, the landlord’s commercial lease problems don’t end with a successful eviction judgement. Many times, commercial landlords will need further legal intervention like filing a Writ of Possession. Plus, even after the tenant and their property has been removed, there are still legal matters left to handle. For example, commercial landlords will often discover extensive property damage caused by their tenant. In those situations, a separate lawsuit for damages is warranted.
If you choose a dedicated commercial real estate attorney, they be with you at every step of your commercial eviction process. They will help ensure you are complying will all your legal responsibilities, because if you take the wrong steps as a landlord, your tenant will have legal grounds to successfully challenge you in court.
Fighting A Commercial Lease Eviction in California
While commercial tenants don’t have anywhere near the protections that residential tenants have in California, they still have rights. Commercial landlords in this state can’t change your locks, remove your property or otherwise forcibly remove you. They must go through the proper court process. They also can’t spring an eviction on you. They are required to give you three days to rectify the issue they have with you before they are allowed to file an unlawful detainer complaint.
Your Rights After Eviction
Once you have been evicted, you still have rights pertaining to your property. Your landlord still must provide you with five full days to vacate the premises.
Some landlords think they can barge in and start removing your things, but if they do that without respecting your five-day window, you have legal recourse.
Also, they can’t just throw your business property into the garbage even after those five days are up. They must keep your property for a full 18 days so that you can claim it if you want.
Commercial Eviction Defenses
If you are a business owner renting property through a commercial lease and are facing eviction, you will need legal representation. As soon as you receive your notice of intent to pursue legal action, call an attorney.
Even if you know that you deserve the commercial eviction, you still have certain defenses that a lawyer can help you with. Defenses include taking legal action for failing to provide proper notice. But even if you think the eviction is valid, talking to a lawyer is still a good idea.
Many landlords are following improper eviction procedures or are committing retaliatory or discriminatory evictions that are illegal.
Commercial Eviction Lawyer in California & Texas
If you are faced with a commercial eviction or if you need to start the process of a commercial eviction, contact us for a free consultation. We are dedicated to our clients’ best interests.
When you are having commercial lease issues, it may feel like you can’t count on anyone, but the compassionate team at LloydWinter, P.C. will fight for you when your contractual safeguards fail.
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