Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I own a restaurant that is in a strip mall that is doing horribly bad. All of the shops, including myself are losing money every month. I currently have no lease so I'm in the process of selling the restaurant, is there anything the others can do to get out of their lease? We have all tried to talk with the landloard but he won't lower our rent. What can we do?


Asked on 4/29/10, 6:39 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Philip Iadevaia Law Offices of Philip A. Iadevaia

I would hesitate to say that you should first pay less rent and leave it to the landlord to sue for non-payment of rent and evict you. However, that is one way to let the landlord know that you are seriously in danger of losing your business. You could start by paying a lesser rent, then when the LL serves you a Three-day Notice to Pay or Quit for the balance, pay the full amount in the notice within three days. You're risking a lawsuit, though. As for the other tenants, if they have leases that are still within their term, they will have to take steps to coerce the LL to the negotiating table. It's not an easy thing to renegotiate a lease, especially with a stubborn LL. But there really are very few options for you and your neighbors. Good luck.

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Answered on 5/05/10, 8:22 am


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