Expert: Jim Avancena, CPM - 12/28/2008

Question
QUESTION: There are 3 people on a lease for commercial property and I wasn't informed that we were behind by 5,000.00 until recently. One person was responsible for paying, but didn't pay full amount. The other 2 people is not working right now. Can the landlord come after me for the money? and what are my rights at this point?

ANSWER: Angielita,

Unfortunately, "3 people on a lease" means various things to different people.  Do you mean that three different names actually appear and are listed on your lease as the "tenant"?   I am not an attorney, so you will need to check with a local attorney to advise you about the specifics of the law in your area and the correctness of my advise.   I will tell you what I can about your lease situation.  

Legally you need to determine if the actual text of your lease specifies the "form" of your three person group tenancy as "Tenants in Common", "Joint Tenants", "Tenants by the Entirety", "Joint and Several", etc.   The lease should actually contain a specific expression of the legal form of tenancy you have in your lease, and  often the lease will also define in writing what your specific form of tenancy means regarding responsibility for the rent payments.

For example; if your lease states that the three of you hold the premises as "JOINT TENANTS", it means that YOU hold an interest in the ENTIRE premises with the other two persons.   You and the two others all having an undivided right and interest in the Entire premises; rather than YOU having a separate interest in a particular portion of the leased premises.

I am not certain what you meant by stating: "One person was responsible for paying, but didn't pay (the) full amount".  If you are "Joint Tenants",  it doesn't matter if the three of you had made other agreements about who paid for which amount of the full rental owed.    The three of you must resolve what each of you may still owe to each other regarding your own personal business agreements; however, the landlord is not legally effected by those matters.    If you leased the premises as "Joint Tenants", a judge will allow the landlord to collect the funds owed from each one of you until the landlord is repaid the total of $5,000, regardless of what you may have agreed among yourselves.

If, in fact, you are "Joint Tenants", and I believe it is highly likely that you are, each of the three of you are responsible for assuring that the full amount of any rental obligation is paid.  It is very common for several persons to hold leased property as "Joint Tenants".   If you are Joint Tenants, it means that the answer to your question is that the landlord can "come after"  YOU for the $5,000.   Let me explain further.

The landlord can also "go after" the other two of the persons listed on the lease, but if he knows that they are not working and are unlikely to have the funds to pay the $5,000, the landlord is allowed to file a legal action to take you (alone) to court to enforce the collection of the monies owed.  If you do not pay the $5,000, the landlord can then file a legal action to take each of the other two tenants to court to collect the funds owed.  The landlord may also be allowed to garnish any wages you earn at a job you or the others hold.  

You must check with a local attorney regarding the lease law in your area to confirm what your lease allows the landlord to do to collect the $5,000 owed and the specifics of the financial responsibilities each person maintains.  

Finally, be certain that you do in fact owe the $5,000 according to the terms of you lease.  Additionally, you continue to be liable for the monthly rental due as long as the lease term has not terminated.

It is my judgement that your case appears to be legally fairly basic and straight forward.  It may be that if you know anyone who is an attorney in your area - even if they are a friend that specializes in divorce cases, or a brother-in-law who is a contracts specialist-  they will likely be capable of providing you the legal assistance you require.  

If you do not have the funds to afford an attorney to advise you in this matter, you should check with the local Bar Association to discover if there are attorney's in their association that provide Pro Bono legal service to those that cannot afford to pay for legal fees under various circumstances.

Simply look up the phone number in a local phone directory, and ask the receptionist that answers the phone if they have any attorneys that provide Pro Bono legal services.  If the association does not have any members available, you can also check with a local law school for such assistance, if there is a law school nearby.  

Lastly, if you and the other tenants receive a legal notice to appear in court in this matter, you should contact the court listed in the notice and ask them if they have anyone from the Public Defenders office that can assist you with this matter.  If they do, contact the Public Defenders office immediately to seek help because the attorney's need as much time as possible to prepare for court.

Do not be shy about contacting those that can help you.  Good luck.  Please let me know how this turns out.  

- Jim

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: it just lists us as tenants!the least is up in february. can i close the church myself because the pastor is not paying the rent or does the owner have to do that?

Answer
Angielita-

The key to your questions involves determining who is legally bound and responsible in the eyes of local courts for the rent and other expenses incurred by the lessee.   The fourth word in your question is "Us".  By "us", do you mean the three persons whose names appear on the lease?   

Although I am not qualified to answer a legal question, I suggest that if the three named persons on the lease are "Joint Tenants" I believe that any of those three named individuals may close your operations on the leased premises when it terminates at the end of February - if that is, in fact, the last day of the lease term.

Remember, it is important that you ascertain the actual legal form of how the three named persons on the lease operate to direct the actions of the tenancy during the lease term.  The questions you have asked relate to matters that should be addressed by the person or persons authorized to act on behalf of the tenant.   I have no way of knowing if you have the authority to close the church now unless I have additional information to enable me to correctly answer your question.

It is safe to say that under any circumstances you should assure that preparations are made in advance to timely remove every single item in the leased premises that was not there when you first leased the premises - this includes removal of all the trash in the premises.   These tasks must be completed, and keys to the premises returned to the landlord or landlord's agent no later than the last day of the lease term.  If not, the tenant may be held responsible for additional expenses for staying longer than the lease stipulates and other potential assessments.

As I indicated in my previous answer, you should ask an attorney to review your lease and advise you what action you can take to be of assistance to the lessee and in compliance with the terms of the lease.

Good luck,

- Jim