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PETENADA · May 3, 2011, 06:20 PM

I live in Nassau county newyork can I call a locksmith and get into my business he is alone the tenant not the landlord.

excon · May 3, 2011, 06:40 PM

Hello Pete:

Commercial landlord/tenant law is based on contract law, as opposed to residential landlord/tenant law. Therefore, whatever you can and can't do should be spelled out in your written lease agreement. If it isn't, then you're flying blind. I'd do what a "reasonable" person would do, and that's call a locksmith so you can get to work..

But, there's other stuff going on here.. Why would your tenant lock you out?

excon

ballengerb1 · May 3, 2011, 06:47 PM

I think he means he is the sub lease and the origianl tenant changed the locks. I'd like to know if the locks were possibly changed by the actual landlord. Can you tell us more and how you think it's the guy you sub from?

PETENADA · May 3, 2011, 06:52 PM

I spoke to the landlord it wasn'T him I have been speaking to the landlord he told me to call a locksmith. I JUST WANT TO KNOW MY RIGHTS.

ballengerb1 · May 3, 2011, 06:57 PM

The LL can't tell you what to do, there is no legal standing between the two of you. What does the tenant who you sub from have to say? Were you at all behind in rent or violating your lease in any way? Your only rights are what's spelled out in your sub lease, what does it say?

PETENADA · May 3, 2011, 06:57 PM

He is also my vendor and we use to do business together he refuse to pay me. So I started to take the rent off his bills and now he is refusing to paid me all together and lock me out. I need to get in my business I spoke to the landlord he tells me call a locksmith. BUT I WANT TO KNOW MY RIGHTS.

excon · May 3, 2011, 06:58 PM

Originally Posted by PETENADA

I JUST WANT TO KNOW MY RIGHTS.

Hello again, Pete:

It's like I said earlier. Whatever rights you have are, or SHOULD be, spelled out in your written lease... If this issue wasn't addressed, you have no special rights other than what any citizen has.

Besides, what rights you have under your agreement depend on whether you held up your end of the agreement... So, before we could tell you what rights you have, you'll have to tell us what the controversy is and what you did to get there.

excon

ScottGem · May 3, 2011, 07:12 PM

First, when posting a follow-up question or info, please use the Answer options at the bottom of the page rather than the Comments.

Second, Please pay attention to your answers. You have been told, at least three times, that what rights you have are based on what is in your contract. So if you want to know your rights as you keep asking you have to read your agreement. If you want help interpreting that agreement we can try to help. But we can't tell you what rights you have without knowing what's in the agreement.

You also need to explain the situation more clearly. What type of business is this? You say he is your vendor that usually means he sells you stuff, or do you mean he sels your stiff for you?

ballengerb1 · May 3, 2011, 07:15 PM

The moment you withheld rent you violated the lease. You can not slap one hand for what the other hand is doing. Your rent and your sales bills are totally separate issues. What would you do with a guy who owed you money but was not your landlord, that's what you can do here, not withhold rent.

ScottGem · May 3, 2011, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by ballengerb1

The moment you witheld rent you violated the lease.

On the other hand, he may have also violated the lease with an illegal lockout. We don't know because we don't know what the lease says.

Fr_Chuck · May 3, 2011, 07:58 PM

You can not merely "withhold" rent to pay another bill.
You needed to sue him and/or bill him for that money.

When you failed to pay the rent, without a prior agreement to use that funds, you got behind in your rent.

A commercial landlord, unless specified different in the lease may lock a renter out for non payment