Legal Question in Business Law in Maryland

Re: lock changing on commercial property

In general, presuming that there is a valid lease in force between a landlord and a tenant, a landlord should first obtain the assistance of a court in order to retake possession of the rented premises. Having said that, there are some circumstances under which it would make sense for a landlord to take possession of property by changing the locks even without an order from the court.

Whether the general rule applies, or whether an exception to the rule applies for your particular circumstances would depend entirely upon the facts of the case. Please feel free to give me a call if you would like to go over your facts to determine applicability of the law to your precise facts.

Lawrence R. Holzman, Esquire

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400

Greenbelt, MD 20770

(301) 220-2200

fax (301) 220-1214

Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.

Re: lock changing on commercial property

Changing the locks is tantamount to eviction and generally

requires a court order. Otherwise, the landlord may be

subjected to a wrongful eviction action. The terms of your

lease may spell out otherwise but self help is disfavored by the

Courts and contractual arrangements to this effect are not

always upheld. In as much that commercial property is involved,

lost business opportunity may be a sustainable claim to damages.

The question to ask is, "Why is the lock being changed?"

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