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Evicting a Commercial Tenant in California
In landlord / tenant law, the owner of a piece of property is called a "landlord," and the renter is called a "tenant.' For private residents, there are special laws in place that protect the rights of tenants. For example, private residents have the right of quiet enjoyment, without the tenant always poking around and bothering the resident. Residents also have the right to a clean, safe, and healthful place in which to live.
Commercial tenants are businesses that rent their property space, like a store or office, from a commercial landlord. Businesses are presumed to be sophisticated, knowledgeable, and savvy about the law. Therefore, business tenants are not afforded as much protection by state statutes. It is very much caveat emptor, or "buyer beware," in an alabaster jungle.
Because there is not much statutory protection for commercial tenants, the subject of eviction of a commercial tenant is very much an issue of contract law. Evictions usually happen because the tenant cannot pay rent, but it may occur because of the landlord?s dissatisfaction of the use of the property. The issue is often which party breached the contract.
In California, a commercial tenant can be evicted for failing to pay a demanded amount up to 20% in excess of the rent. Businesses only have three days after being informed of the eviction to correct the violation. There is no warranty of habitability: if the roof leaks or the heater quits, it is the commercial tenant's problem. There is no statutory right to repair and deduct. There is no protection for locking a commercial tenant out, removing their property, and turning off utilities or removing windows to force the tenant out.
California commercial tenants must remember that all protections and rights should be spelled out expressly in the rental contract. The law assumes that anything not in the contract was not meant to be there.
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