Failure to collect rents from commercial tenants promptly can seriously handicap your business. Late rent needs to be approached by the commercial landlords advisedly. So keep cool and make every step prudent. This then gives Florida property owners a selection of avenues for collecting the rent and reclaiming their property.
All too often, it is the landlord in Florida and elsewhere who initiates a partition action in florida between co-owners and poisons the lease logjam. So, if your tenant defaults in paying his rent, here are the steps you take and where in Florida you may have to consider going in for a partition action.
Step 1: Review the Lease Agreement
Lease agreement of a commercial property should be reviewed carefully. When, how much, any grace period, and any penalties for lateness or nonpayment should be clearly defined in a well-drafted lease. Most commercial leases further provide remedies upon the tenant’s default.
Step 2: Interaction With Post Lease Letter Of Agreement And Lessee
In advance of going to court, feel free to attempt a more direct interaction with the lessee. A single firm talk can greatly curb unwanted developments. It may be that, for some relief, the tenant may try some form of deal where he performs his obligations through a payment plan or extension. It is important that all interactions are captured for use in other legal processes that might come up so all actions taken can help build the case.
Step 3: Serve a Notice
If no further talking is deemed possible or useful, a notice to the tenant to either pay or leave the property should be issued. There is a general understanding of the law in Florida that a notice ought to be served before an eviction process starts. This gives the tenant an opportunity to settle the issue out of court.
Step 4: File a Case
Assuming the tenant refuses to make payments, there are several approaches you can take:
Eviction for non-payment
You may initiate the eviction process at the local county court. Assuming the court is on your side, you can fetch the space back and collect any unpaid rent owed to you.
Small claims or civil lawsuit
For amounts considered trivial, applying for a civil case or attending small claims court is probably your best shot.
In more convoluted scenarios, like when several individuals jointly own a commercial real estate and they do not see eye to eye on the next course of action, a partition action Florida landlords sometimes use can be an effective legal tool. A Florida partition action allows a number of co-owners to compel a division or a sale of the property when conflicts, like disputes on enforcement of lease agreements or managing unpaid rents, arise.
When to think about a Florida Partition Action
So let’s say you and a business partner co-own a commercial building. Your tenant is months behind on rent, but your partner won’t evict them or bring legal action against them. In a stalemate like that, here is how a florida partition action can help you break the impasse over property ownership by petitioning the court to divide or sell the real estate and equitably allocate shares of the sale proceeds.
This may not be a typical path, but you should know your rights when joint ownership impacts your ability to enforce lease terms or recapture lost income.
Conclusion
Though commercial lease unpaid rent situations demand substantial effort to resolve but following appropriate procedures together with knowing your legal rights ensures your investment remains protected. Property owners in Florida send eviction notices and file partition lawsuits as part of their efforts to regain property control and continue managing their real estate.
To find the best legal solution for unpaid rent disputes in shared ownership scenarios or complex lease disagreements property owners should seek advice from a real estate attorney.
