We rent a commercial space to our tenant. He utilizes the space primarily for storage and travels several weeks each month. We received a check for rent in January and have not heard from him or seen him since. Desperate to locate him, we contacted a friend (listed on his initial lease application) who informed us that she had heard through another friend that he had lost his phone. She, too, had no way to contact him and had received no communication from him either. She offered to pay his February rent, and we contacted her the last week in February to accept her offer. On March 15th, we sent an email demanding that March rent be paid by March 22nd, and that April rent be received no later than April 1st. Again, we have received no communication by email, phone, or mail. His 1 year lease was up February 28th. At this point, we have to assume that he is on a month-to-month rental agreement since he has not been available to sign a new lease.
What are our rights in terms of eviction? I had read that you need a 60 day "notice to vacate" for commercial properties. Is that correct? Is unpaid rent significant reason to evict? If so, since his friend paid February rent, is he considered delinquent only for March rent? Does his history of late payments for rent have any bearing on the legal outcome of this case, or is that unprovable in a court of law?
What are our rights in terms of eviction? I had read that you need a 60 day "notice to vacate" for commercial properties. Is that correct? Is unpaid rent significant reason to evict? If so, since his friend paid February rent, is he considered delinquent only for March rent? Does his history of late payments for rent have any bearing on the legal outcome of this case, or is that unprovable in a court of law?