Commercial Evictions
Evictions are never pleasant experiences as they are very likely to get complicated and require legal intervention. There are two means of Commercial Evictions. Commercial Evictions are done either via the High Court or the Magistrates Court. In the Magistrates Courts, the process will follow the method of issuing a summons, while in the High Court one has the election of either proceeding with a Summons or an Application. The benefit choosing the Application procedure is that it is usually the commercial eviction process is finalised much faster, given that there are no disputes of fact in the case.
It may sometimes be useful to divide the claim for arrear rental and damages from the claim for eviction as the eviction claim could be finalised much quicker. The number one priority in most evictions is to eject the tenant from the premises so that new suitable tenants can be placed, returning the property to profitability.
It will be worthwhile to consider the losses due to rent and property damage. That is why it is advisable to divide the claim for arrear rental and damages from the claim for eviction as the eviction claim could be finalised much quicker. The number one priority in most evictions is to eject the tenant from the premises so that new suitable tenants can be placed, returning the property to profitability.
Commercial Evictions are regulated by the common law and are not influenced by PIE or ESTA. A characteristic commercial eviction is the ejection of persons from an office space, a retail space or an industrial space. In establishing whether an eviction falls under Residential or Commercial, one must take into account the use of the property. That is the determining factor that defines the type of eviction that will be taking place.
The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) does play a role within the eviction process as it brings the lease agreement into the eviction process. This allows certain tenants to be given a grace period to remedy their infringements of the lease agreement. It may also offer them the right to terminate their fixed term lease within 20 business days. This is not the case for all tenants in a commercial eviction, as others may be excluded from the CPA.
The best advice when embarking on a commercial eviction is to enlist the services of an eviction lawyer as they will be able to guide you on the entire process as well as any events that might create a complication in the process. Such as a tenant applying for business rescue, and thus, using the new Companies Act to suspend legal action. If a business does apply for business rescue and it is believed that the business may, in fact, be rescued, the legal action suspension applies, and the landlord may not terminate the lease, evict the tenant, or take action to recover loss from arrear rental.
It may be suitable in some circumstances to either co-operate with the Business Rescue Practitioner in restoring the business, or it may be feasible to approach the High Court to set the Business Rescue aside, depending on the specific circumstances, a professional eviction lawyer will assist you in taking the best approach. The effect of Business Rescue on the Landlord could be fatal, especially if the property in question is bonded and the Landlord does not have alternative means of making the bond payments. The Business Rescue proceedings will delay all enforcement action by at least 3 months, but in practice this often takes much longer.
When dealing with Commercial Evictions, knowledge of Insolvency law may also be necessary. In the event that a tenant liquidates, the Landlord must determine whether it will be in its best interest to lodge a claim with the liquidators. The claim may either be limited to the amount of the security held by the landlord (Legal Hypothec and Guarantees) or it may be feasible to extend the claim to the full amount. The Landlord must however exercise caution in extending its claim into the concurrent domain as it may result in a contribution being payable to the administration costs of the Liquidation.
We offer commercial eviction services as we have highly skilled eviction lawyers to assist you in your commercial eviction. We understand that this process can be complicated and we are going to be by your side with professional advice and services for each of our clients.
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