Simplify
10-23-2008, 06:27 PM
I shared a medical office space (Massage Therapy) for 2 months beginning in Aug 08' with a woman who had the original lease. I paid her $300/month for using the office 2 days/week. We also shared the space with an Acupuncturist who used the space 1 day/wk.
The lease was up for renewal 9/08. We had agreed to share the space and sign a new lease together. Halfway through the first month renting the space I found out she was sleeping in the office as well as letting her friend's sleep at the office.
She lived out of town and claimed to stay there when she was using the office to see her clients two days in row. So she didn't have to drive 2 hrs back to her home and return the next day.
When I confronted her on this issue she did not see anything wrong with it and even told me not to tell the landlord as this was not in her lease agreement. I told her it bothered me that she used the office like a hotel and that I wasn't comfortable with her or her friends sleeping in the office as it is a PROFESSIONAL office. There is a law called the HIPPA Law which she is clearly unaware of and was in violation of this law. I'm not able to leave client files in the office as I don't trust or know who her friends or that they would breach my clients confidentiality. Plus this was really unprofessional behavior. She blew me off and could not see the big deal about it saying it was only her best friend and it didn't happen all the time.
In Sept I found a note left for the other tenant we shared the space with to leave the door unlocked as her friend was going to come and spend the night in the office. So my discussion with her about having people sleep in the office was ignored.
I also had issue with the parking lot and getting blocked in by other employees from the tenant next door on several occasions.
So I decided for the amount of money I was paying and these issues that I was not going to sign a new lease with this woman and would find another office space as of 10/1/08.
When I called her to explain that I would not be continuing to rent from her or sign a new lease and the reason's why, she became irrate and started yelling at me. Telling me that I needed to pay her for the month of Oct as I was not giving her 30 days notice.
I told her no, that I was not going to pay her anymore money as we only had a verbal agreement, no lease was ever signed. And I had no obligation to pay her for not giving her any notice. She continued to berate me on the phone so I hung up on her. After three weeks she had never cashed my Sept rent check so I stopped payment on the check.
She's now calling me telling me she'll take me to small claims court to get the Sept rent as the check bounced. It didn't bounce! I stopped payment on it.
My question is this, What legal leg does she have to stand on at this point considering we had no signed lease together and I was only subleasing? Would she even have a case against me in small claims court for $300 bucks? And could i counter sue for her and her friends sleeping in the office?
The lease was up for renewal 9/08. We had agreed to share the space and sign a new lease together. Halfway through the first month renting the space I found out she was sleeping in the office as well as letting her friend's sleep at the office.
She lived out of town and claimed to stay there when she was using the office to see her clients two days in row. So she didn't have to drive 2 hrs back to her home and return the next day.
When I confronted her on this issue she did not see anything wrong with it and even told me not to tell the landlord as this was not in her lease agreement. I told her it bothered me that she used the office like a hotel and that I wasn't comfortable with her or her friends sleeping in the office as it is a PROFESSIONAL office. There is a law called the HIPPA Law which she is clearly unaware of and was in violation of this law. I'm not able to leave client files in the office as I don't trust or know who her friends or that they would breach my clients confidentiality. Plus this was really unprofessional behavior. She blew me off and could not see the big deal about it saying it was only her best friend and it didn't happen all the time.
In Sept I found a note left for the other tenant we shared the space with to leave the door unlocked as her friend was going to come and spend the night in the office. So my discussion with her about having people sleep in the office was ignored.
I also had issue with the parking lot and getting blocked in by other employees from the tenant next door on several occasions.
So I decided for the amount of money I was paying and these issues that I was not going to sign a new lease with this woman and would find another office space as of 10/1/08.
When I called her to explain that I would not be continuing to rent from her or sign a new lease and the reason's why, she became irrate and started yelling at me. Telling me that I needed to pay her for the month of Oct as I was not giving her 30 days notice.
I told her no, that I was not going to pay her anymore money as we only had a verbal agreement, no lease was ever signed. And I had no obligation to pay her for not giving her any notice. She continued to berate me on the phone so I hung up on her. After three weeks she had never cashed my Sept rent check so I stopped payment on the check.
She's now calling me telling me she'll take me to small claims court to get the Sept rent as the check bounced. It didn't bounce! I stopped payment on it.
My question is this, What legal leg does she have to stand on at this point considering we had no signed lease together and I was only subleasing? Would she even have a case against me in small claims court for $300 bucks? And could i counter sue for her and her friends sleeping in the office?