One of the quickest ways to get your business into a hole you cannot dig out of is to treat your Commercial Tenancy like a Residential Tenancy.
Some Commercial Tenants who have legitimate issues with things their Landlord is supposed to take care of but isn’t decide that the best way to get the Landlord’s attention is to stop paying rent. Unlike Residential Tenancies in Ontario and other Provinces in Canada, if you stop paying Commercial Rent, the Landlord can distrain (sell your assets) or terminate the Lease and sue you for all remaining payments owing under the Lease.
The right way to deal with a Commercial Leasing dispute is to keep paying rent, hire a lawyer and obtain a Court Order requiring the Landlord to address the issue.
Yes, this costs money, and that can be frustrating for a business; however, hiring a lawyer and handling this the right way is a lot cheaper than defaulting on a Commercial Lease!
Inga B. Andriessen, Managing Lawyer