Inheriting Tenants In Default?

An Illinois Appellate Court recently ruled in favor of a commercial tenant after a new owner acquired a commercial building and attempted to collect accrued unpaid rent owed to the previous landlord.

If you currently own or are looking to acquire a shopping center, office building or other commercial property, these transactions may bring with them some time consuming surprises and costly legal fees if existing tenants owe unpaid rent. An Illinois Appellate Court recently addressed this issue in 1002 E. 87th St. LLC v. Midway Broadcasting Corp., 2018 IL App (1st) 171691 (June 5, 2018), and ruled in favor of a commercial tenant after a new owner acquired a commercial building and attempted to collect accrued unpaid rent owed to the previous landlord. In affirming the lower court's ruling, the court held that a subsequent landlord did not have standing to sue for unpaid rent that had accrued prior to the conveyance and explained that such standing is a right remaining