Commercial evictions can be complex. Potential roadblocks await landlords who fail to take certain steps before proceeding. For a Connecticut landlord seeking to evict a commercial tenant, the biggest concerns are usually waiver of rights under the lease, faulty lease interpretation, mishandling the tenant’s property or payments and when to pursue monetary amounts due under the lease. A Bridgeport, CT commercial eviction lawyer can help landlords identify potential roadblocks, evaluate lease provisions, and take appropriate steps when seeking to remove a commercial tenant.
A landlord’s conduct after a tenant’s default can seriously complicate an eviction action. For example, accepting rent or otherwise treating the lease as continuing to be in force can give the tenant arguments concerning waiver, reinstatement, or the landlord’s failure to terminate the tenancy properly. This becomes especially important when the tenant is partially paying arrears while the eviction is pending. The landlord should carefully document whether payments are being accepted as rent, use and occupancy, arrearage, or something else. A commercial lease is generally terminated by the service of a notice to quit which lists the legal grounds for the eviction. Accepting rent after service of the notice to quit may be a basis for a tenant to claim that a landlord has waived the default thereby reinstating the lease.
Commercial eviction cases can turn into contract interpretation cases. The landlord should have a clean evidentiary record establishing, for example, the executed lease and amendments, the nature of the tenant’s defaults, and the tenant’s payment history. Often commercial leases require that the tenant be provided with a written notice of default with an opportunity to cure such default, before any eviction may be pursued. It is critical to properly analyze the lease to determine all landlord obligations before starting the eviction process.
A commercial landlord must resist the temptation to turn to self-help. For example, a landlord should not simply change the locks, shut off utilities, remove the tenant’s property, or otherwise take possession outside the statutory process. Generally, court-ordered eviction judgment is required before these steps may be taken. As for dealing with unclaimed property after the tenant has been evicted, Connecticut has a specific statutory provisions which define the process.
An important strategic question is whether the landlord’s objective is simply to regain possession, recovery of amounts due under the lease, or both. In addition to seeking to physically evict the tenant, the landlord may have separate claims for unpaid rent, future rent, attorneys’ fees, repair costs, and other damages. Generally, it makes the most sense to regain possession before seeking money damages. The reason is that until an eviction judgment enters, a landlord is usually only entitled to damages through the date of the money judgment. Once the eviction is complete, the landlord can quantify the full amount of unpaid rent or the cost of necessary repairs. Moreover, once the eviction is complete, the landlord may also pursue future amounts due through the end of the lease term.
Because of these potential roadblocks, speaking to an experienced attorney early in the process is critical. In any specific case, there are often other variables which may ultimately affect how you should deal with a problem tenant. If our firm can be of assistance in analyzing your landlord-tenant issues, or if you have questions relating to other areas of business law, please feel free to contact Willinger, Willinger & Bucci, PLLC.
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