Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Who's responsibility for bringing building & property up to county code?

You mean, who gets to deal with the legions of county people with their hands out. First, I would turn to what it says in the lease agreement. By the way, how is it that you signed a lease without getting any legal advice on these issues?

Re: Who's responsibility for bringing building & property up to county code?

One or the other of you is responsible. Someone has to do it. Ordinarily, these matters are covered in great detail is any well-drafted commercial lease. Often, the responsibilities are divided between the landlord and the tenant under the terms of the lease. However, leases are of many types, including so-called triple net leases where practically all responsibilities fall upon the tenant. At the other extreme would be short-term rentals in a built-for-particular-purpose property such as a storage facility, where the tenant would normally expect the landlord to have handled most or all of these permitting issues.

So, it's a matter of negotiation, abd the degree of burden heaped on the tenant under the terms of the lease is usually reflected in the rent.