Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in North Carolina

I am an orthodontist and I have been leasing office space in a general dental office on days that she does not work, primarily Fridays, for three years. This past week, I was informed that she had sold her other office and was now going to have to work on Fridays at the office that I lease. Therefore, I would no longer be able to lease her office after July 1. We have never had a signed lease agreement, which I know was a big mistake. The issue now is that July 1 is not enough time to either find another dental office to transition into, purchase a dental office, or build-out my own office space. Keep in mind that I have new patient appoints scheduled until December and patients is active treatment scheduled until the end of July. I have an x-ray machine that was built specifically for her office and would take at least a month to get another one made. Do I have any legal ground to stand on in order to get more time to make the transition? As an orthodontist, I have to see patients in active treatment every 4-6 weeks. If I am unable to do so, do I run the risk of getting in trouble with the state dental board and Medicaid for abandonment of patients. I have two other locations but they are both an hour away and not convenient for my patients at this office.


Asked on 5/25/15, 8:59 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kenneth Love Ken Love Law

Unfortunately, without a lease, you don't have much of a leg to stand on. Unless you had some oral agreement that you can properly testify to as to how much notice you would get, 30+ days would likely be considered more than enough time, especially for a non residential lease.

You need to find a new space ASAP....also, you can consider speaking to a business attorney to see if there are issues you may not have mentioned here that may give you leverage.

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Answered on 5/26/15, 5:20 am


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