Greetings Gentle Readers, 

Disclosure:  I am not an attorney and any advice given here is purely from an anecdotal and  personal experience basis and should not be construed as legal advice.  Before taking any action against a laundry company, including recommendations included herein, please consult with your counsel.   

Today's post deals with a recurring problem with which many property managers and owners suffer...the sudden realization that your property has a lease with an "Automatic Renewal" clause that may have been overlooked or forgotten.   If you are in the late hours of a laundry lease and the non renewal notice period has expired there is not much one can do.  However, this suggested practice is, IMHO, good advice for any property manager at any given time...find and review your laundry lease.

1st Step:  Review your lease and focus on finding out if it contains an "automatic renewal" clause - if it does then ensure you understand the "non-renewal" notification requirements.  For example, one lease may stipulate the "non-renewal" notice can only be sent no sooner than 180 days prior to expiration and no later than 90 days prior to expiration...another lease may stipulate that the "non-renewal" notice can only be sent during the first month of the final year (which is not January BTW it's the first month of the anniversary of the expiration...i.e. June 18, 2021 expiration = July 2020 notice requirement).

2nd Step:  Once you determine the "non-renewal" notice send a registered, return receipt letter to the laundry company's home office address and mark it "Attention: Legal Department"....better yet, get the name of their in house counsel and address her/him specifically.  Make sure you reference the lease, lessor name, lessee name, lease date, lease expiration and address of the property in your letter.  And specify the letter is sent pursuant to the paragraph that specifies the "non-renewal" notice requirements.

3rd Step:  If you find that you can't place your hands on the lease then you should send a registered return receipt letter to the laundry company informing them of your need for a copy of the lease and any addenda, amendments, extensions that they have in their possession.  Again, best practice is to correspond with their in house legal counsel as often times these requests fall through the proverbial "cracks" when sent to a branch office or a sales rep.   One final note, request the documents with an end date of, say 15 business days, with a declaration that a non response would signify that no such lease exists.  That should impress upon them the sense of urgency needed to comply.  

I appreciate any comments, question or thoughts.