Shutting Down A Business

Shutting down a business? Here's how a shut down can affect you personally.

There are several reasons for a business eviction. Your lease contract will stipulate circumstances whereby you must leave the premises. Among those, of course, will be the failure to pay the rent. There are ways, however, of renegotiating with landlord to prevent an eviction which would not only be costly but would also confuse your clientele.

You should be aware that common practices of business eviction in the past such as intimidating tenants are both illegal and dangerous. Your landlord cannot padlock your property, put your belongings out in the street, shut off the utilities, or other harassments that once were common practice.

You should know that evictions are legal matters and the landlord must do them according to the law. Before you even get eviction notices, you should first try to negotiate a lower rate from your landlord. Failing that, you will likely start receiving eviction notices. Usually these will be legal documents giving you a deadline for making your rent payment. Should you fail to do that, the landlord will file the eviction petition in court. These eviction orders are reported to be the fastest moving cases in courts. The sheriff’s office or a marshal’s office will handle the eviction.

What You Can Do about Business Eviction

Is there anything you as a tenant can do about business eviction? Probably. You need good legal advice and the knowledge of how to proceed. Like all business problems, it will not be a pleasant experience, but it is something you must deal with.

What are the ramifications of an eviction from your business property? First, it gives your business the stigma of instability. This will lose customers or clients because no one wants to begin a business transaction with a company that may no be in business the next day. Second, it makes it necessary to find new property quickly. Just what you need for your business may not be available on such short notice. Third, a new landlord will look into your history and may refuse to take you on as a tenant fearing that you may default on your rent.

The law is not stacked against the tenant. There are fair recourses available in the face of possible business eviction. Like all areas of business, you must spend time gathering your resources and prepared to take the proper action. This is not a time to put your head in the sand and hope the problem will just “go away.” In avoiding a business eviction, there is also the need for some restructure so this situation never presents itself again.

Plain talk about business bankruptcy and attorneys.