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What is wrong with this picture?????

2K views 20 replies 18 participants last post by  teejk 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
What is wrong with this picture?
????

I leased a building in a Industrial Park---The business is listed on the lease as a Millwork business and signed…
The property is Zoned I-3, 3 1/2 years later the Landlord gets busted for renting these buildings which do not meet city codes. So now your faced with Eviction for violation of city codes….. The Landlord makes his money and you are screwed….. The property is Zoned I-3 but the building itself is not but only listed as storage as primary usage…..

In order for the building usage to be changed there has to be upgrades. 3 hour firewall and the landlord wishes not to make those upgrades so he evicts you cause your now in violation of city codes. The Sign to the complex says Business and Industrial Park….. I could understand if I rented a building for storage and later decided to do woodworking….. But having disclosed from the very beginning what my intentions where to later find out that oooop's the landlord made a mistake so see ya….. Something is not right here….. Am I the only one scratching my head….
 
#6 ·
It always pays to check with the city yourself. If all you need is a fire wall it just amounts to 5/8 dry wall between you and the neighbor,It will probably be cheaper than moving and if your lucky you can get your landlord to pay the cost.
You might approach it as if your doing him a favor so he can not have an empty unit. :))
 
#7 ·
It is a year to year and I am looking into the Implied Warranties of suitability defense to see if I do have any recourse. Your right it cost a lot of money to move a business…. Not to mention the 25k I have spent thus far on electricial and lighting….. Only to have to do it all over again…. not as much next time but still I figure 10k to just get removed not to mention my downtime.

Being a Landlord and his buildings I would think it is his responsibility to know what can and can not happen to his buildings or what they are approved for… Oh well, better x-mas for the family next year while the landlord pockets 70k and washes his hands clean…..
 
#11 ·
what a nightmare… I am no lawyer so I can only offer condolences.. We inserted a writer in our lease when we moved recently stating that the building was zoned as represented by the lessor for the purposes we required. This put the due dilligence back in the landlords court?... We ran into a few folks un-willing to accept that, and have since found out that we are really happy not to be leasing from them.

good luck. and also curious what you learn, as we will be re leasing or moving in two years
 
#12 ·
So sorry to hear about your troubles! Life is full of frustration; hang in there, you have many friends! It sounds like from what you describe, that the landlord didn't even know he was out of compliance with code. It might be best to just back out of the situation and find a new place? Hard for us to say since we are miles and miles away. But whatever you do, keep a cool head and a calm heart. Patience most always wins out. Easy advice to give I know, but super hard to follow, even for myself:).

Most Humbly and Respectfully,

Nate
 
#13 ·
'Stop paying rent' is just an invitation to eviction anyway, and possibly bad credit. You don't say what the other two upgrades are, but if it's cheaper to make the upgrades yourself than it is to move, you might consider that. But if you do you should get a five-year lease minimum. Year to year is too much of an unknown. Best to talk to a lawyer - if the owner leased you property knowing it had limited use you might have some grounds for a suit.
 
#14 ·
Gsheperd,

Sorry to hear about this; it's tuff enough trying to make it as a small business without some idiot not doing their job….........and then not taking responsibility when they do screw up. Your Landlord, City building inspector, and whoever issues a business liscense are all at blame in one way or another, but instead, you get left holding the ball.

Do you know if any of the other tenants in that industrial park are being evicted? There's always strength in numbers. I'd sure check around and if so, maybe if a number of you filed a suite against the landlord to start with and go from there you could get something done. If nothing else, I would sure let all the other business owners in that park know what is going on.

Good luck and keep fighting. It's not over till the fat lady sings.
 
#16 ·
Thank for the replys, I know I need to move what ever the outcome is…. There was a company next door that moved out a month ago but it was a Oil refueling company and the City and EPA got on them because the site is between 2 waterways where they parked their equipment. 20 or more Diesel tanker trucks. They could have stayed but the permits were too expensive for them to stay so they moved. They were there for over 2 years though.

I am looking for places right now and no matter what happens I am out of there it is just the darn expense involved moving a 5,000 sq ft shop full of lumber and equipment, electricial, ect ect. I am a one man operation for now but equipped like the big boys are in making wood mouldings. Just 3 weeks ago I was burned for over 57k by a cabinet shop who has been shut down by the IRS for non-payment of employee withholding tax. So now I have that fight also… I do have over 23k in Liens against some jobs I did for Hilton, Otterbox, Country Inn for example through this contractor. So for a one man operation I did pretty well. Then I am hit with this crap…

When I went to pay my monthly rent I know he did screw up, cause he refused it, then waited a couple of weeks then got a Eviction notice on my door Nov 21st. Happy Thanksgiving. Notice of Eviction stated in a nut shell was for Violation of City codes and failure to pay rent. I again went to his office on the 23rd and tried to pay the rent…

As soon as I walked through the door, ( I want you the Hell out now) I will not accept any rent. That again was a NO NO on his part…. I have it all documented and will go to court with this information. I do know that when he rents to other people he has to run it by the City planners with the future tenant to discuss their plans and business operation….. This stinks all the way around so we shall see who s right and wrong. But honestly to be out by the 17th of this month will be a pipe dream…. Then if I lose I have 3 more days to get moved and probably have to pay this Dick….

So in a nutshell when you rent/lease a building the only way to protect your butt is to have the City Fire Marshall, Code Planners, Zoneing Comission and who else ok for you being there…. The property is again Zoned I-3, which is Industrial…. Oh this has taught me more than you can possible know for next time around so next time any of you sign a lease/rent agreement are you going to have to go through all of this first to protect your butt and why should it be your responsibility to do so? I wonder if I sold some crack to people and made them sign a disclosure that I am not responsible or held accountable for anything if that would hold up in court.

I know I am beating a dead horse and sometimes do not know when to give up but that same fault of mine has kept me in business as well…. So back to the shop and keep on boxing up my equipment and try to keep the Happy Happy Joy Joy attitude. I will post what happens in court so to better inform anybody else who is thinking of starting a business on what can happen as well…...
 
#19 ·
I agree, This guy is not going to go quietly without a fight for him to at least pay for my expenses…. Have attorney who is going to look into it but he did say under the circumstances and the fact I still have 8 more months and have been there 3 1/2 years and being a small business I am not nor any business expected to know when leasing a property what can and can not be done and the fact he advertises Business and Industrial and all buildings are Zoned I-3 we have a shot…... The Landlord knows his property not the renter….. Funny attorney said he checked the business website and now some of the buildings are listed as storage only…...
 
#21 ·
you say it is a "year to year" lease which usually means can be renewed at the option of either party (essentially not a lease at all). fight if you want but I think you will lose.

but also learn from it when you find a new spot (read the renewal/lessee improvement clauses carefully to make sure you don't stick a pile of money into electrical/lighting/etc.).

and review your current lease to see what happens to improvements you made. on a year to year, you should be entitled to take them with you (in fact you might be required to restore the property to it's original condition or risk losing your security deposit).

btw…the time to consult a competent lawyer is before you sign the lease, not after something goes bad (the meter runs on the latter).
 
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