Last updated March 26, 2024
Written by
Kyle Adam Kyle Adam, BComm
Kyle Adam is a seasoned content creator, editor, and SEO specialist with over four years of experience. Presently, he serves as Senior Marketing Writer and Editor at LawDepot. Holding a...
Reviewed by
Sarah Ure Sarah Ure, BA, JD
Sarah Ure is a Legal Writer at LawDepot. Sarah has undergraduate degrees in English and Psychology from the University of Calgary, as well as a Law degree from the University of Victori...
|
Fact checked by
Rebecca Koehn Rebecca Koehn, BSc, MFA
Rebecca Koehn has been working in content creation and editing for over ten years and search engine optimization for over five years. Koehn is the Content Marketing Manager for LawDepot...
What are Commercial Lease Notices?
Sometimes, landlords and property managers of commercial spaces need to give their tenants notice regarding issues, such as breached lease terms, forfeiture (eviction), or the upcoming end of a lease. Commercial Lease Notices are the documents that landlords and property managers use to inform or warn their commercial tenants of these various issues.
To use these notices, you and your tenant must have signed a Commercial Lease Agreement and the rental property must be commercially zoned. Commercial properties include:
- Offices
- Retail stores
- Restaurants
- Warehouses
- Industrial spaces
If you manage residential rental properties, use LawDepot's Residential Eviction and Lease Notices instead.
Why is it important to use Commercial Lease Notices?
As a landlord, you must give your tenants notice in written form. Calling your tenant or paying them a visit to inform them of something important, such as eviction, is not enough.
Landlords can benefit from using written Commercial Lease Notices. If you ever find yourself in a legal dispute with a tenant, having evidence of the days on which you provided notice can help you in court. Written notices create a record of the date on which you provided notice and prove that you gave the tenant adequate time.
Types of Commercial Lease Notices
Not all Commercial Lease Notices are the same. The various types can help you communicate different warnings to tenants. There are three types:
- Notice to Remedy Breach
- Notice of Forfeiture
- Notice to Quit
Notice to Remedy Breach (warning)
A Notice to Remedy Breach, also known as a warning notice, is used when a tenant violates a lease term. The notice informs the tenant that their landlord is giving them a period of time to remedy the breach before pursuing forfeiture (eviction). The period of time should be outlined in the Commercial Lease Agreement. Generally, tenants have anywhere from 14 days to 28 days to remedy a breach, depending on its severity.
In a lease, a breach can either be a breach of a covenant or condition.
- A condition is a contingency that must be met. For example, a lease may contain the condition that the lease will be forfeited if the tenant ever declares bankruptcy.
- A covenant is an agreement from the tenant to do (or not to do) a specified act, such as paying rent on the first day of every month.
Unsurprisingly, the most common breach of a covenant is not paying rent. However, a tenant can violate their lease in other ways. For example, if a Commercial Lease Agreement states that the tenant needs to maintain common areas and the tenant fails to do so, the landlord may choose to send a warning notice. The notice gives the tenant a chance to fix the situation so they are no longer in violation of their lease.
If a tenant does not remedy the breach of covenant or condition by the end of the notice period, the landlord must serve a Notice of Forfeiture to the tenant before pursuing eviction.
Notice of Forfeiture (eviction)
Suppose a landlord has informed their tenant of a lease violation and provided reasonable notice, but the tenant has still not remedied the breach. In that case, the only solution may be to end the lease early, also known as forfeiture or eviction.
Often, commercial tenancies are a lot less regulated than residential ones. Generally, the requirements and process for evicting a business tenant should be set out in the Commercial Lease Agreement. Our template allows you to specify the notice period in which the tenant has to pay the overdue rent or rectify the breach.
If evictions are not outlined in the lease, the notice period the landlord gives must be reasonable.
After the notice period, you can begin the eviction process by applying to the court for an eviction order or can re-take possession by peaceably re-entering and changing the locks.
The notice usually includes:
- The date the Commercial Lease Agreement started
- The breaches of certain conditions or covenants
- The actions required to remedy the breach
- The amount of time the tenant has to remedy the breach
Notice to Quit
Landlords can use a Notice to Quit to end a periodic tenancy, or in "overholding" situations, that is, situations where the tenant remains in possession after the expiry of the agreed term and continues to pay rent.
A periodic tenancy means that a lease automatically renews on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. Periodic tenancies continue until one of the parties terminates the lease. Sometimes, leases may start out with a fixed term and then roll over into periodic.
To terminate a periodic tenancy, the landlord must give a Notice to Quit, outlining their intention to end the tenancy. At the end of the notice period, the tenant must move out or the landlord can start eviction proceedings against the tenant.
Often with commercial tenancies, there are set end dates on which tenants are supposed to leave the premises. Overholding occurs when a tenant refuses to give up possession and remains in the rental property after a lease end date, likely still paying rent.
If a commercial landlord wants to force an overholding tenant to leave the premises, they must provide the tenant with a Notice to Quit, communicating that the lease is to end.
How do I deliver Commercial Lease Notices to tenants?
There are specific legal requirements for proper written notice. Usually, proper written notice must be delivered in person, by registered post, or affixed to the door of the rental property. Consult your local laws before providing written notice to ensure you meet all requirements.
