Breaking a Commercial Lease

[NHsmallbusinessowner]

Jurisdiction

New Hampshire

I am considering breaking a commercial lease in New Hampshire. Apart from losing the security deposit, what are the legal implications of this? Can our landlord sue if we leave? We should have negotiated to include an early termination clause in our lease, but we did not. We honestly thought we'd stay there for the length of the lease and we would, if the conditions were better. There are a handful of reasons why we want to leave but i'm not sure if they are enough to terminate the lease legally. Some reasons include:

1. A dumpster has been parked in front of our entrance by the property management company for 2 weeks so we can't load our vans inside or accept deliveries. We have asked the property management company to move it multiple times.
2. A family of skunks has been living in the building, the property management company said it's mating season and they will likely leave soon. They got a quote from a pest control company but never hired them. The skunk smell is intense, we can't have in person consultations in space as-is.
3. Our driveway barely ever gets plowed. Last week the property management company suggested we wait for it to melt. We just had a big storm and it has not been plowed. Our lease says the landlord is responsible for common areas.

The main reason is that we were broken into twice last year and the landlord was awful about it, wouldn't even return our texts. The local police department finally called him repeatedly to get exterior lights and cameras put up. He eventually did the right thing, but the process was a huge headache.

Is this enough to break a lease without being sued though? If anyone knows what could allow a commercial tenant to break a lease without penalty (when no lease termination clause exists) please let me know.

 

[zddoodah]

Apart from losing the security deposit, what are the legal implications of this?

Absent cause for early termination, you're liable for rent through the end of the lease term, subject to the landlord's duty to mitigate damages by finding a replacement tenant.

A dumpster has been parked in front of our entrance by the property management company for 2 weeks so we can't load our vans inside or accept deliveries. We have asked the property management company to move it multiple times.

Did you give notice in writing? Did your written notice clearly explain the impact that the dumpster is having on your business? Did the notice say what you intended to do if the landlord didn't move the dumpster?

A family of skunks has been living in the building

Have you considered hiring pest control yourself? Does the lease have any provision about this sort of thing?

The main reason is that we were broken into twice last year and the landlord was awful about it, wouldn't even return our texts.

Was the landlord responsible for the break-ins in any way?

The local police department finally called him repeatedly to get exterior lights and cameras put up. He eventually did the right thing

That's fine, but unless the lease imposes these requirements, this is neither here nor there. To elaborate, at the time you entered into the lease, you knew or should have known what security systems existed and didn't exist. If you wanted exterior lights and cameras, you could have tried to negotiate that obligation into the lease. I assume you didn't do that, and a commercial landlord does not have any general duty to provide such things.

Is this enough to break a lease without being sued though?

Whether you get sued or not is obviously impossible to predict. What you really want to know is your likelihood of prevailing if you get sued. You seemingly have some legitimate gripes, but to get an intelligent assessment of your situation, you should take your lease and relevant correspondence to a local attorney for review and advice.

 

[adjusterjack]

Can our landlord sue if we leave?

Yes.

A dumpster has been parked in front of our entrance by the property management company for 2 weeks so we can't load our vans inside or accept deliveries. We have asked the property management company to move it multiple times.

Did you put the request in writing? Paper trails are important. Post a photo of the dumpster in relation to your door.

A family of skunks has been living in the building, the property management company said it's mating season and they will likely leave soon. They got a quote from a pest control company but never hired them. The skunk smell is intense, we can't have in person consultations in space as-is.

In the part of the building that you occupy? If yes, get them removed. So it costs you a little. Self preservation is nobody's business but your own.

Our driveway barely ever gets plowed. Last week the property management company suggested we wait for it to melt. We just had a big storm and it has not been plowed. Our lease says the landlord is responsible for common areas.

Again, put it in writing. One option is that you will have it plowed and deduct the cost from the rent or sue for it.

The main reason is that we were broken into twice last year and the landlord was awful about it, wouldn't even return our texts. The local police department finally called him repeatedly to get exterior lights and cameras put up. He eventually did the right thing, but the process was a huge headache.

I don't see where the landlord has any responsibility for any of that. If you wanted lights and cameras would have been easy enough to install at your cost, with permission of the landlord.

Whether you get sued or not is obviously impossible to predict. What you really want to know is your likelihood of prevailing if you get sued. You seemingly have some legitimate gripes, but to get an intelligent assessment of your situation, you should take your lease and relevant correspondence to a local attorney for review and advice.

Ditto.