Q: Should I signed a commercial lease that my landlord sent me when I'm a residential tenant?
I lose my job in August and since I didn't have the money to paid the rent I apply for ERAP. I informed my landlady and she is ok with this but they still have not approved my application. Today I received a message from my landlady to please sign a lease she sent me via email. When I look at it the lease was for a hair salon not a residential property and dated the lease was signed by was at the beginning of this year and ending in December. I call EARP to find out if this was necessary they told me that my application was being reviewed and to call back in one to two weeks. What should I do about this lease that is not only a commercial lease but it was signed 1/1/2022( she also had a witness sign)and that is a lie?
A: If you have an ERAP appliction pending, the landlord is stayed from taking any action to evict you until a determination on your application is issued. Commercial tenants are not entitled to file an ERAP application nor are they entitled to the related stay preventing eviction. It sounds like your landlord is trying to get around the protections you are entitled to as a residential tenant by asking you to sign a commercial lease. Further, it is generally not adviseable to sign legal documents that are not true.
Steven Warren Smollens agrees with this answer
A: You should not sign. Sounds like it was an error. There is literally a form for both the residential lease and the commercial store lease. I think maybe she just sent the wrong one.
Steven Warren Smollens agrees with this answer
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