Wrongful Eviction Improvements Reimbursements

            If a tenant is wrongfully evicted, they are entitling to the rental value of their improvements for the remainder of the unexpired lease or rental terms. If there were no reimbursement, the landlord has a windfall profit for their use of the tenants’ improvements until they normally return to the landlord at the expiration of their agreement.

The tenant is not entitled to the market value of their improvements. Therefore, the tenant can only recover a reasonable value for the landlord’s use of the improvements. Until their agreement is terminated.

Often times a lease or rental agreement has a default provision prohibiting the tenant from removing their trade fixtures when the agreement is breached. This causes the tenant and the unsecure creditor have no right to the trade fixtures.

If the tenant takes a note against the trade fixture and then loses the property they and their creditor have not right to the fixture. However, if the fixtures are owned by a third party the third party has the right to remove the fixtures.

A real estate fixture is personal property that is attached to the real estate. It becomes a part of the real estate and it stays with the property. This is called a reversion.

However, trade fixtures do not revert to the landlord of the expiration of the agreement. A trade fixture is an improvement that is attached to the real estate by the tenant but it is unique to the operation of the tenant’s business, and not the use of the building. A car lift would be an example of a trade fixture. The diagnostic equipment would also be considered trade fixtures.

Again, consult a law professional before acting on these matters.

Note: Images on this blog site are from a free source or taken by the author. No image or group of photos is intended to represent the people the author serves. The author does not care about Race (that is a politically correct term that he does not like because we are all of the same Race, the Human Race. He prefers the term ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender, marital status, disability, genetic information, national origin, source of income, Veteran or military status, ancestry, citizenship, primary language or immigration status.) He is a service provider for all people. We will all rise together when we band together and help one another. Joseph Erwin is a Real Estate Broker, DRE # O2131799, and a CA general contractor # B 696662. He’s a member of the CRMLS and The East Valley Association of Realtors located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California.