Leaky Roof
I lease a 17,000 sq.' metal building with a metal roof. Took occupancy in January, and the roof has leaked since then, now in about 50 different places, getting worse when the landlord had someone incompetent to work on it. My office literally floods. The lease specifically says the landlord is to keep the roof "watertight". I've tried to be nice, doing my remodeling around the leaks at first. By May I had to slow it to a snails pace and they had basically stopped even trying to fix it. My open date was to be June first. I've had compters ruined, remodelled sections ruined, stock ruined, had to return stock, etc. I withheld the rent August and September. I've lost valuable time, money, business, etc. Predicted gross sales of 300,000 at first. The middle of August they started getting bids from professionals. A company is now preping the roof for a rubberized coating. The landlord show up yesterday and is demanding back rent since they're fixing the roof now, or they will evict me. The landlord is a lawyer. He does not deny he's been in violation of the lease. The location is superb, which is why I've tried to be patient, plus I've sunk about $100,000 into the building. Any thoughts why this landlord might be pushing me into a lawsuit that seems to have every aspect of the law on my side? I don't want to miss something. Thanks for any ideas.
Tell him that your are being 'constructively evicted'. Being a commercial tenant, you have guidlines, just like your landlord does. If your landlord doesn't fix anything, and you have to move, it is called constructive eviction.
I wouldn't withhold rent. 2 wrongs don't make a right. I would however hire a RE attorney now to protect your rights. Likely he will have you put the lease payments in an escrow account until it's settled.
Good Luck,
Shawn(OH)
Pay rent now......
you are in violation by holding back rent....
take him to court for damages and loses but pay up.....
Thank you for the replies. We stopped paying rent on the advice of our lawyer. He said it was our "remedy" according to state law, and he thought it was best rather than filing a lawsuit immediately. He said that if we all go to court, nobody wins, except him . I pretty much agreed. He also said we cannot be legally evicted because we did not breach the contract; said they're bluffing because what have they got to loose if we give in. If they don't fix the leaks, I don't guess I have a choice but to move anyway. When they cleaned the roof, the interior insulation began to fall and seperate. It's black with mold. One of my employees is afraid it's that dangerous kind of mold. Oh, boy. I guess the ball is in their court. We have a five year lease with another two year option. I think I'll build my next place. Thanks again for your time.
Some states, like FL for example, allow you to withhold rent when repairs are not being made by landlord, as long as you have given landlord written notice. Follow your attorneys advice, and wait until they are FINISHED with the repair, and it has passed inspection.
Does you contract with landlord say anything about mold??
What does you attorney have to say about mold / sick building syndrome?
My state allows the same proceedure, which we followed as advised by our attorney. They've finished now, and we're waiting on the first hard rain. The contract says nothing about mold. I've done a little research and found it's expensive to test, and the test are often unreliable as conditions vary. I've documented everything, pictures, etc., and we plan to officially notify the landlord of the problem that his deficiency in not repairing the roof caused. My attorney says that he is then responsible for the situation. If he doesn't act, I will have the test done and have it monitored for my employees, and my sake. If the test show a problem, my attorney says my landlord is legally bound to remedy the problem. I hope that the mold will simply die when it has no more moisture to feed off of. The mold inspector said this was the best route to take, and possible it will work out. I don't want to cause any unnecessary ruckus, but on the other hand I have a responsibility to my employees and customers.
A second issue is the building had no heating strips in the units, unbeknown to the landlord when he purchased the building. (My contract says landlord responsible for air and heat). We agreed to allow him to wait until fall to install the heating strips, as it's gonna cost not only for the strips, but the buildings wiring must be enhanced to take the load. Big bucks. My lawyer says that now that it's cool, we should wait until he actually does take care of the heat since he is now in violation of that provision of the contract. Oh, boy . I only bring this up to remind everyone to throughly inspect your buildings throughly before you buy!
Terry