In general, commercial tenants have fewer statutory protections than residential tenants. For instance:
- In a residential tenancy, a landlord’s acceptance of partial payment of back rent from a tenant after service of a notice to quit constitutes a waiver of the notice, but in a commercial tenancy it may not. [See CCP §1161.1(c); Woodman Partners v Sofa U Love (2001) 94 CA4th 766, 770–772.]
- Whereas parties to a residential rental agreement are held to strict statutory notice requirements that cannot be waived, parties to a commercial lease may agree to their own notice requirements for termination of the tenancy. [See, e.g., Folberg v Clara G.R. Kinney Co. (1980) 104 CA3d 136, 140.]
- Commercial tenants may modify or waive the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment, whereas residential tenants may not. [See Lee v Placer Title Co. (1994) 28 CA4th 503, 512–513.]
Commercial tenants generally cannot claim the defense of a breach of the warranty of habitability. [See Schulman v Vera (1980) 108 CA3d 552, 560–563; but see Four Seas Inv. Corp. v International Hotel Tenants’ Ass’n (1978) 81 CA3d 604, 613 (suggesting this defense may be available to small commercial enterprises).]
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