Fed up-rent too high! Berkeley, CA

[goodfood]

I own a business and am having some problems with my landlord. The lease has expired and I am currently on a month to month lease. My neighbors are paying much less then I am for more square footage. It has come to the point where paying this amount of rent does not make sense for me.

I currently pay $18,000 per month and next month I would like to just pay $13,000 (the amount I feel is fair after researching what other buildings rent for). I wanted to send a check for the lower amount with a letter asking the landlord to accept the new rent or evict us. If the landlord cashes the check does that constitute acceptance? We have tried negotiating but the landlord will not respond. Is there anything I should expect? The landlord is also in a bind because it will be hard for him to find a new tenant in this market and if he should get a new tenant he would have to bring the building up to code-which would be costly for him.

Thank you.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Sounds like what you're asking is "what will my landlord do if I send him a check that's $5,000 below the required rent?"

Unfortunately, we don't know.

He might accept it. On the other hand, he might immediately start a legal eviction on you.

Gail

 

[presutin]

I would also be proactive and ask the landlord to consider the market conditions and the possibility of not having a tenant due to the asking rent price being so high. But, what I would not do is just send him a check for less than the negotiated rent just because you have determined that your rent is too high and you think that what you are sending him is more than appropriate.

 

[goodfood]

So if the landlord cashes the check, does that constitute acceptance? And lets say he continues to accept the lower rent for a year. At the end of the year can he sue me for back rent?

 

[presutin]

Not really - he can cash the check and then send you a letter requesting that you send the remaining balance but that does not constitute acceptance that the lease terms have changed. As far as back rent, think this out very carefully because he can not only sue you for the balance but also, for fees and penalties, so the amount you will end up owing will be more than the amount you would have paid had you sent your correct rent payment on time.