Acceptance of Rent, Removal of Signs Cancel Notice of Eviction

A lease required the tenant to get the owner's written consent to put up signs in the common area. Instead, the tenant got the owner's oral consent. After the owner sold the building, the new owner asked the tenant to remove the signs. The tenant refused, so the new owner started an eviction proceeding.

A Louisiana appeals court ruled that the tenant had violated the lease by refusing to remove the signs when asked to do so. But, the court said, since the new owner had accepted three rent checks from the tenant after sending the notice of default and eviction, it gave up its right to evict the tenant. This acceptance of rent, plus the tenant's eventual removal of the signs, cured the lease violation and reinstated the lease, the court said [A & J, Inc. v. Ackel Real Estate, LLC].