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What you should know when evicting commercial tenants

On Behalf of | Jan 5, 2023 | Landlord-tenant Law

Evictions are some of the most challenging actions Missouri landlords or property managers must accomplish. Making a tenant leave a property can become highly contentious. However, when you need to evict someone from a commercial property, you must follow specific procedures that give the tenant time to vacate. Otherwise, the tenant has grounds to challenge the eviction in court.

Types of evictions

When evicting tenants from commercial real estate properties, the action falls into one of five categories:

• Eviction notice for cause

• Pay rent or quit

• Cure or quit

• Unconditional quit

• Unconditional notice without cause

Some eviction notices give tenants a period to fix something, such as unpaid rent or otherwise violating the terms of a lease agreement, before the law requires them to leave the property. These are pay rent or quit and cure or quit notices. These two types also fall under the eviction notice for cause category, but some notices for cause don’t allow a rectification period if a lease violation is severe.

You may use an unconditional quit notice when a tenant shows a pattern of bad behavior, such as consistently paying rent late, engaging in illegal activity, etc. Serving a notice without cause occurs when a landlord wants to end a lease agreement early and can be unlawful in certain circumstances. All eviction notices must specify a timeframe for when the tenant must vacate.

Commercial tenants frequently fight evictions

Following Missouri state and local laws are essential when attempting tenant evictions. If you don’t correctly follow procedure by including all necessary information required by law in an eviction notice or improperly serve the notice, the tenant may fight you. Other legal defenses for tenants include withholding rent because of a landlord’s negligence or wrongdoing.

When attempting commercial tenant evictions, ensure that all documents have all the necessary information to avoid problems in court. If the eviction involves issues such as illegal activity, you must have documentation from witnesses that such activity has occurred. Review lease agreements before filing eviction notices to ensure that you have a valid reason for evicting your tenants.

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