Adam Bothun 
When the air conditioning dies in August or the furnace gives out in January, the first argument is about comfort. The second argument, and the more expensive one, is about money: who pays to repair or replace the HVAC system. In residential rentals the answer is usually the landlord. In commercial leases it depends on … Read more
Leases impose detailed obligations on tenants, and tenants who break them face swift consequences. The reverse gets less attention: what happens when the landlord breaks its promises. A landlord who will not repair the building, restore services, or honor negotiated lease rights is in default, and tenants are not limited to complaining. The law and … Read more
Buried in nearly every lease is a clause with a gentle name and real teeth: the covenant of quiet enjoyment. It does not mean your apartment must be silent. It means your landlord cannot substantially interfere with your right to use the space you are paying for. When landlords break this promise, through endless construction, … Read more
When the heat cuts out in January or the water stops running on a Sunday morning, a service interruption moves from inconvenience to crisis fast. For tenants, the question is never just who fixes it. It is who pays for the hotel, who covers the spoiled inventory, and whether the rent still owes in full … Read more
Your landlord has not fixed the broken HVAC for six weeks despite repeated notices. Summer temperatures inside your restaurant are driving customers away. You are current on rent, but you are wondering whether you can reduce your rent payments to account for the space you cannot fully use, or to pressure the landlord into acting. … Read more
The roof leaks over your inventory every time it rains. You have sent four written repair requests over two months. The landlord promises to get to it, but nothing happens. Your goods are getting damaged, and you are wondering: can you just hire a roofer yourself and deduct the cost from next month’s rent? In … Read more
Your lease expired last week. Your new space is not ready for another month. The landlord just informed you that holdover rent is 200 percent of your old rent, and it started accruing the day after expiration. That extra month will now cost you double, and you agreed to it years ago without noticing. Holdover … Read more
You have three years left on your lease when the landlord announces the building will be demolished for a mixed-use redevelopment. Your lease, you discover, contains a demolition clause giving the landlord the right to terminate with 12 months notice. Your business, built around this location, now has a one-year expiration date you never negotiated. … Read more
You hand back the keys, the space swept and empty. Two weeks later the landlord sends a bill for 8,000 dollars: repainting, carpet cleaning, and patching walls. You left the place broom clean. The landlord expected original condition. Your lease used both phrases in different sections, and now you are paying for the ambiguity. Surrender … Read more
Your lease is ending in 60 days. You installed custom lighting, built a reception area, and painted the walls in your brand colors. Now the landlord says you must rip it all out and return the space to a concrete shell, at your expense. You assumed normal wear and tear would cover it. That assumption … Read more