Invalid Lease?

Status
Not open for further replies.

drflexx

New Member
I have a question about the legality of a current commercial lease. My father rents office space in a building and is on a two year lease currently. I share that office space with him two days a week, but we are not business partners or associates, we have completely separate businesses. My father does business under his name and is infact licensed (business license) under that name. My business license shows my legal dba name.
The question about the lease is due to the following:
1. The lease is made in the name of my business dba
2. My name is not on the lease
3. The lease does not show my father's name which is his business name.
4. My father signed the lease made out to my business name.
5. I have never signed the lease, nor was I presented with one to sign.

We are trying to expand and need to get out of this lease which the landlord has refused to allow. We have one full year left on the lease. Any help is appreciated.
 
If you break this lease and the landlord wishes to sue for such, their argument will be that your father represented you when he signed the lease. This happens all the time.

The judge will ask who uses the space. Under oath you will have to reply that you both do. Your reason for wishing to break this lease to expand without the risk of financial penalties is not a legally valid one.

If (for example) the place was in dire need of repair and, after repeated attempts to contact the landlord to address these repairs with no response, you would have some options which might include (depending on your state) terminating the lease secondary to uninhabitable conditions.

However, if you attempt to break the lease based on your claims that it is an invalid lease because dad signed for you..and the landlord attempts to sue you for owed rent...it is quite likely you will lose this case.

Gail
 
Thank you for this reply. I now have a clearer understanding of the name issue. One side note and maybe you can help with this. The lease has an addendum that states that if my father becomes incapacitated or unable to work the lease is cancelled. The addendum is stated exactly as the following:
---Should <dad's name> die or become incapacitated and unable to work, this lease shall be considered to be void and his assigns or heirs will have the right to vacate the premises, without fault or penalty.
I wonder if the non-specific wording of this statement allows for this lease to be void if my father is unable to work for a week or a few days due to a injury or illness (which has happened and could happen again)?
 
The lease is valid. There is a concept in law called "apparent authority." Basically what Gail is saying is true. He didn't represent you, he represented that he was part of your company. Since you followed through with the lease you showed that your company intended to enter into this lease and therefore you are bound by the "apparent authority" that he exercised by signing the lease.

As to the follow up question, you will not be allowed to play games with that clause. Being disabled and "unable to work" is a permanent condition, or one that at very least would extend beyond the term of the lease. So a temporary disability would not suffice.

On a lighter note, I hope you aren't planning on "disabling" your father to get out of a lease!
 
Thanks. I was speaking with an attorney friend who mentioned the possibility that the law statutes require a husband and wife to both sign a lease for real commercial leases. It doesn't make too much sense to me and I was thinking maybe he was recalling a statute that requires the owners to both sign if they are the lessor??
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top