Eviction of a Commercial Tenant Not on the Lease

[funkybutton]

My question involves an eviction in the state of California.

A year ago a two year lease was signed between a landlord and I for a warehouse. This space was meant to be used between several people, and my landlord is aware of this, but the lease was only signed by me and I have taken the bulk of the financial responsibilities. The rent is split evenly. We are not in business together.

Things have gone very badly, mostly due to two of the people working here (a couple), who are dishonest, controlling, taking up more space than they pay for and being so inconsiderate that it has turned into a hostile working environment for everyone there. Everyone, except for them of course, thinks it's time for them to move on and get their own space. There is no formal sublet or written agreement, or verbal agreement for that matter. Everyone just assumed it would work out and we made no arrangements in the case that it didn't.

We met with them to discuss this, and to offer them 2 months to vacate, which we thought was generous, and in addition I am (was) willing to pay them back their portion of the security deposit out of my own pocket and well and pay them for some of the construction we did last year that we all chipped in on. In response there was a lot of yelling and insulting, "call the cops", "you can't make us leave", if they did leave they would probably be in no rush, not make it a priority- maybe they'll get around to it before december, i would have to pay their moving costs (and they now want to move out of the area) and possibly costs toward their wedding next year (huh???).

We just want them to leave. What are our/ their rights in the this situation? Do I have to go through the eviction process even though I am not a legal landlord and they are not a legal tenant? This is a commercial warehouse, there is no one living here. Thanks!

[STATcom]

First, it's inadvisable to lie and say your co-tenant weren't apart of your lease. Even though your co-tenants aren't officially on the lease, the problem is that if you attempt to kick them out by stating that they're not tenants, they could easily dispute this by showing proof of payments and by also getting the landlord to confirm the terms of your lease.

Short of getting them to voluntarily leave or waiting for the lease to expire, there's not much you can do to get them out, from my perspective.

[Mr. Knowitall]

The big question is whether you would be legally regarded as their landlord, or if their actual landlord-tenant relationship is with your landlord. It sounds like you're telling us that everybody understands the same landlord (the one with whom you signed the lease) to be everybody's landlord - that everybody paid their share of the security deposit to him, that they pay their rent to him, that they go to him with issues that a landlord would be expected to resolve, etc.

If the legal relationship is [Master Landlord] > [You] > [Subtenants], then the others in the warehouse are your tenants and, consistent with any enforceable rental agreement, can have their tenancy terminated by you upon proper notice. But if you're not their landlord, you don't have that right. I suggest discussing your tenancy in more detail with your landlord and, if that's not sufficient, with a real estate lawyer to try to clarify your role in relation to the other tenants, the nature and duration of any rental agreements reached with the other occupants, and possible solutions to the problem.