Q: Landlord eviction Question

[Lorraine J Courtney]

Hello - 

I'm new, so forgive my rookie actions. Could really use some advice - We we have a tenant who has violated the terms of our lease agreement and want to evict him but are afraid of being sued and retaliation.  

Background:

We have a commercial rental unit which we leased to said tenant who owns and operates a smoke shop.  The business was just recently  raided multiple times by the police for selling illegal substances.  

Recently the tenant nextdoor left and the tenant who owns the smoke shop has asked to expand his business into this nextdoor unit and extend his lease for another year, but we refused.  As a result we suspect this tenant has drilled the lock on this next door unit 3x.  Each time we've replaced the lock we come back to find it drilled, something we've never have had happen before in the history of leasing property.

He has a 3-year lease agreement with just a year left (Dec 31, 2022). The character of the customers this business attracts is becoming increasingly worse and the break-ins this last year in our other units has increased x10. While we can't tie the break-ins to the people coming to this shop, we are concerned.  We would like to evict this tenant based on the multiple raids on his business and for violating the following clause in the lease agreement:

1. "USE. Lessee shall use and occupy the premises for a smoke shop. Lessor represents that the premise may lawfully be used for such purpose. Lessee shall not use the premises for no other purpose(s), (e.g.: manufacturing or distributing illegal substances, storing, manufacturing, or selling explosives, flammables, or other inherently dangerous substances, chemicals, or unlawful devices)."

There are over a couple dozen police reports we can obtain in need to back the eviction, but would that be necessary?  Also, would we need an attorney to file the eviction?  We're very concerned about the tenant retaliating and vandalizing the property and feel they will do so regardless of whether they are evicted now or when they are forced to leave at the end of their lease agreement. 

Any suggestions/advice on how to proceed here? Thank you in advance for you help and support with this.