Bounced check for commercial rental

[Idealwarehouse]

Hey everyone this is one of my first posts I hope that someone can help with some good advise. I own and manage a few hundred thousand square feet of commercial warehouses. The bays are rented to small commercial business like automotive shops cabinet shops and personal hobby shops also some dead storage. The story is that the other day a very well dressed young man driving a new Range Rover came in. He rented a thousand foot bay. He loaded the bay full of personal belongings and then his check bounced. Now he's missing. All his numbers are disconnected. Normally I would drag is stuff into the street take something of value and call him after I had possesion of the item of value. Bottom line if a tenant doesnt have money to pay his rent he doesnt have any to get an attorney. This guy has some dough though and a little bit of an education on the issues. whats the deal with the bounced check? A buddy told me that if there is no consideration there is no lease. Is that true? Thanks

 

[fredrikklaw]

No sel-help remedies allowed!

Well, the temptation to "educate" such persons must be overwhelming, but not the way to go in this situation; at least not yet, and, what your friend told concerning consideration and leases is not true.

A bounced check neither invalidates a lease agreement and nor does it allow the landlord to enter the leased property helter-skelter in order to throw the tenant and his belongings onto the curbside. A lease conveys property rights which make the lessee basically the owner of the leased property for the duration of the lease. But it doesn't mean that you cannot kick him to the curbside if he breaches the lease.

Send him a letter with a copy of the returned check with a demand for immediate payment plus the late fee and returned check fee. If no reply is given, you can then serve him with a pay or quit notice and if there is still no response from him, then serve him with the proper eviction notice and then file an Unlawful Detainer action to repossess the property.

As for his property; even if he does not show up to collect his belongings and abandons it all, you are still required to hold his property in a secured storage for a period of one year before discarding them or auctioning them off.

fredrikklaw