December 1, 2020 What Should You Do When You Can’t Pay Commercial Rent?

These are the things you need to do if you’re unable to pay for your commercial rent.

One of the most frightening prospects of any economic downturn is the possibility of losing your source of income. The COVID-19 pandemic has yielded a plethora of problems for many business owners. The high unemployment rate, coupled with the general fear of the virus, and even poor governance all adversely affect the ability of ordinary citizens to earn an honest living.

Business owners are also severely affected by these factors. It’s not wrong to guess that the majority of small businesses are struggling to stay afloat even as stay-at-home restrictions are gradually being eased. One of the most difficult problems that business owners currently face is when they are unable to pay their commercial rent.

This is especially agonizing because of the money they’ve already invested into their space, and because of the tedious task of relocating everything to a new space should they be lucky enough to secure another. These are the things you need to do if you’re unable to pay for your commercial rent.

Negotiate With Your Landlord

Contrary to popular belief, the terms of a lease contract may actually be renegotiated. Whether it’s to get a payment deferment plan or a reduction in your monthly dues, you need to communicate with your landlord.

In fact, most landlords are more than willing to negotiate with their tenants instead of resorting to an eviction because of the difficulty of finding a replacement tenant during the pandemic. Not only this, but courts generally frown upon landlords who attempt to evict tenants during the pandemic. For best results, you might even want to consider hiring real estate professionals like the ones from the Jeff Tabor Group to help you negotiable better terms.

Recheck Your Lease Contract

If you’re unable to come to terms with your landlord, your next option is to review your contract for a provision that indicates whether you have a contractual right to terminate the lease or to withhold paying its rent. This provision states that when a tenant is either unable or unwilling to comply with the terms of the lease, you may invoke a non-payment common defense law. The premise here is that every landlord has duties to their tenants. If your landlord fails in those duties, a tenant may be excused from paying some or all of the rent.

Should You Worry?

The truth is that you shouldn’t have to worry about getting evicted. In fact, landlords are highly encouraged by the authorities to renegotiate with their tenants.

While you shouldn’t have to worry about getting evicted during this time, this shouldn’t be treated as a means to escape your obligations, even when the courts lean towards favoring tenants. Courts may only delay or defer your obligation, but they may not interfere with the lease by releasing you from the obligation to pay rent. Remember that we are all going through the same rough waters and now is not the time to be taking advantage of anyone, landlord or tenant.

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