Blog Post

Dispossessory Matters in Landlord / Tenant Law

Chris York • Sep 25, 2019
Landlord Tenant Law

Dispossessory Filings

At York Gaskill, we frequently represent landlords (and tenants) in contested dispossessory matters, and frequently while negotiating leases. From the landlord’s side, how do you dispossess a tenant where you have one lease, but it denotes separate suites? Assume that your tenant has added contiguous suites, expanding their footprint by way of amendments to their lease over time. Now the tenant is no longer paying and looking to downsize or leave. Your client is fed up and just wants the tenant out. Because you have one lease, can you file a single dispossessory and obtain one writ, or do you have to file separate dispossessory actions? We encountered this situation recently in a Metro Atlanta Court. The Court rejected the initial filing that sought to handle the case as one (1) dispossessory matter. So, the filing had to be resubmitted as multiple separate filings. At the Hearing, the Judge then allowed seven (7) days to pay rent into court on each of the individual filings. 

The interesting twist was that having filed separately, this gave the tenant the option to pay a portion of the rent into Court and retain possession of just a single suite. The rent was divided between the suites on a square foot basis, so this ended with a result that the landlord was profoundly unhappy with: a renegotiation of the lease with a smaller footprint allowed for the tenant. 

Had the Court allowed one filing to cover the entire premises, this could have also given the tenant an avenue to contest the filing. Because only one notice was given and posted on one door of the premises, the tenant might have argued that no notice was given to the remaining separate suites. 

Stay in Control of Your Premises

This scenario did not have a winning outcome as a matter of law. Fortunately, the tenant was unable to pay the rent and keep the matter alive, so as a practical matter, it did not ultimately make a difference. Nevertheless, the landlord was placed in the uncomfortable position of not being in control of their own premises, through no fault of their own. One key takeaway was that careful drafting of the Amendments to the lease, which added the additional suites, could have avoided this pitfall altogether. 

Hire An Experienced Landlord / Tenant Attorney

If you are facing a complex Landlord / Tenant legal dispute, you will want to obtain legal counsel that has deep experience in this area. At York Gaskill, LLC, we have decades of experience litigating in the Metro Atlanta courts and broad experience with the ins and outs of this area of the law. Call us at 678.697.6789 or contact us online to discuss your case.
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