What are my rights under a commercial month-to-month lease?
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What are my rights under a commercial month-to-month lease?
I just rented the space in the beginning of February. Yesterday the landlord told me that I had to leave at the end of the month because he found out something from my personal life that he doesn’t agree with. Is there anything that I can do?
Asked on February 20, 2011 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
A month to month lease, whether commercial or residential, allows either party to terminate the lease on one month's notice for essentially any lawful reason (see below). That means the landlord may terminate the lease on one month's notice.
Federal law does prohibit making housing decisions on certain grounds, such as based on a tenant's race, sex, religion, age over 40, or disability. CA protects a few others, including, I think, sexual orientation and national origin. (To find which categories your state protects, do a web search for "California housing discrimination.") A landlord can't terminate a lease based on a protected characteristic, though he can for any other reason, including not liking your political views or hobbies.
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