What you must know before filing bankruptcy
for your business
There are several reasons for a business eviction.
Your lease contract will stipulate circumstances whereby
you must leave the premises. Among those, of course,
will be the failure to pay the rent. There are ways,
however, of renegotiating with landlord to prevent
an eviction which would not only be costly but would
also confuse your clientele.
You should be aware that common practices of business
eviction in the past such as intimidating tenants are
both illegal and dangerous. Your landlord cannot padlock
your property, put your belongings out in the street,
shut off the utilities, or other harassments that once
were common practice.
You should know that evictions are legal matters and
the landlord must do them according to the law. Before
you even get eviction notices, you should first try
to negotiate a lower rate from your landlord. Failing
that, you will likely start receiving eviction notices.
Usually these will be legal documents giving you a
deadline for making your rent payment. Should you fail
to do that, the landlord will file the eviction petition
in court. These eviction orders are reported to be
the fastest moving cases in courts. The sheriff’s
office or a marshal’s office will handle the
eviction.
What You Can Do about Business Eviction
Is there anything you as a tenant can do about business
eviction? Probably. You need good legal advice and
the knowledge of how to proceed. Like all business
problems, it will not be a pleasant experience, but
it is something you must deal with.
What are the ramifications of an eviction from your
business property? First, it gives your business the
stigma of instability. This will lose customers or
clients because no one wants to begin a business transaction
with a company that may no be in business the next
day. Second, it makes it necessary to find new property
quickly. Just what you need for your business may not
be available on such short notice. Third, a new landlord
will look into your history and may refuse to take
you on as a tenant fearing that you may default on
your rent.
The law is not stacked against the tenant. There are
fair recourses available in the face of possible business
eviction. Like all areas of business, you must spend
time gathering your resources and prepared to take
the proper action. This is not a time to put your head
in the sand and hope the problem will just “go
away.” In avoiding a business eviction, there
is also the need for some restructure so this situation
never presents itself again.
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