Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Rent Checks are not cashed
My business landlord and I had a fall out over the fact that I won't remove graffiti from a wall on his property that doesn't surround my business. I did it as a courtesy three times but he keeps demanding it and I don't feel that it is my responsibility to maintain his property even after I pay rent. If there is graffiti on my business wall - I take care of it but if it is on the residential wall which is next to my business, which he occupies, I don't feel it is my responsibility. He lives in the residential unit therefore he should maintain that wall just like I maintain my business wall. He even sent me a threatening letter from a lawyer to comply but I refused.
Since then, I have noticed that he hasn't cashed my rent check. Its been three months and I have given him three rent checks and all of them are uncashed. I do not know what he is up to? He used to deposit my check within 3 days after I gave him the check. I called him once after I had noticed that the first of the three checks wasn't deposited yet and spoke to his wife and his wife confirmed that they had received the check and that they just haven't had the chance.
Can anyone tell me what he could be up to? How long am I responsible for an uncashed rent check?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Rent Checks are not cashed
Whether you are responsible to remove the graffiti or not would be resolved in court by reference to the terms of your lease. Unless there is a provision in the lease that can be construed to require you to maintain common areas or areas outside your business, and unless the graffiti are attributable to your employees or customers, I'd say you have no duty to remove them. However, I'd not jump to the conclusion that there is nothing in the lease pinning the responsibility on you, especially if this is some kind of net lease. Your responsibilities might extend to parts of the property you don't physically occupy.
Having said that, I doubt there is a connection between the graffiti removal and the non-cashing of the checks. As I said in my answer to a very similar question, the solution to this mysterious failure to cash checks is to pick up the phone and call the landlord. It's so simple, just do it! Then you can stop wondering and focus on fixing the problem, if there is one.
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