What Should a Property Manager Do About Possible Illegal Activity

[raraujo97]

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Texas, Harris County, City of Houston

I just took over the management of a commercial property; during one of the inspection of the space I found what appear to be an illegal game room (slot machines)

How should I proceed? How do I confirm the operation is illegal or not? What are the liabilities for me (property Manager) and the owner? I just find out there is no lease in place for this space

The operation of the business was not disclose to me, this building is an office building.

Thanks

[PayrolGuy]

You should notify the owner immediately of what you believe to be illegal gambling in their building.

[pg1067]

You're free to contact the police if you wish.

[raraujo97]

Thanks you for the answer. I have notified the owner of the building and we will request to provide the appropriate permits, if permits are not provided we will request to stop operation of the business immediately and give them reasonable time to obtain the the appropriate permits, if they are not provided at the end of the grace period we will ask them to vacate the property.

[L-1]

Just curious, what makes you believe gambling is taking place? The mere possession of slot machines is not prohibited in Texas and there are many businesses that restore and sell them both for home amusement and on a large scale for use by casinos in foreign countries.

[llworking]

Just curious, what makes you believe gambling is taking place? The mere possession of slot machines is not prohibited in Texas and there are many businesses that restore and sell them both for home amusement and on a large scale for use by casinos in foreign countries.

Office building not warehouse or factory space...and I suspect the way that it is set up. What makes you suspect that it isn't?

[pg1067]

Office building not warehouse or factory space...and I suspect the way that it is set up. What makes you suspect that it isn't?

Why do you think "L-1" asking a question is an indication that he/she has a suspicion one way or the other?

[L-1]

Office building not warehouse or factory space...and I suspect the way that it is set up. What makes you suspect that it isn't?

The OP said commercial, which to me, left it open to interpretation. Having been in the slot machine business many, many, many years ago, I have seen sales operations pop up in places you least expect. As part of marketing, machines are often lined up for display to give a casino like appearance when they are simply for sale. It's part of the allure for people who want a little bit of "Vegas" in their homes and for buyers from foreign casinos trying to picture refurbished machines in their facilities.

[llworking]

The OP said commercial, which to me, left it open to interpretation. Having been in the slot machine business many, many, many years ago, I have seen sales operations pop up in places you least expect. As part of marketing, machines are often lined up for display to give a casino like appearance when they are simply for sale. It's part of the allure for people who want a little bit of "Vegas" in their homes and for buyers from foreign casinos trying to picture refurbished machines in their facilities.

He also said:

The operation of the business was not disclose to me, this building is an office building.

However what you said about how the machines were often placed for sales purposes does make sense...and it would make sense if the operation were a showroom rather than a game room. However, if that is the case, then the tenants should be able to prove to the landlord's satisfaction that its a sales operation rather than a gaming operation.

[L-1]

He also said:



However what you said about how the machines were often placed for sales purposes does make sense...and it would make sense if the operation were a showroom rather than a game room. However, if that is the case, then the tenants should be able to prove to the landlord's satisfaction that its a sales operation rather than a gaming operation.

That's why I asked the OP what caused him to believe gaming was going on. When I had my business back in the 1980s, you would walk in and see 30 machines lines up along the wall the first thing most folks might think was this was a backroom gambling joint.