As far as your classification, if you guys are truly self-employed, it doesn’t matter whether you’re referred to as an independent contractor or a blue banana–just so long as you’re getting the freedoms you’re entitled to.

In rental agreements between commercial landlords and tenants, there’s usually a force majeure provision that addresses circumstances where unexpected events prevent a party from keeping up their end of the deal. The affected party (in this instance, the tenant) would be entitled to relief, including a suspension of contractual obligations (in this instance, rent payments). Since salon renters are subleasing space and rarely have written leases at all (let alone professionally written lease agreements that contain force majeure clauses), those circumstances likely won’t apply to us–but if everyone who wants to stay out of costly legal battles should be pretending they do and doing their utmost to find a mutually acceptable compromise while we navigate the pandemic.

Without question, COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into everyone’s life. Your landlord doesn’t want to close any more than you want to face the possibility of several weeks without income, but this is an exceptional threat–and one I’m worried you aren’t taking seriously enough. This very much IS a serious problem that will persist for months if we don’t buckle down and make sacrifices today. I’ve received a lot of comments and emails from people saying, “It’s not here yet,” but I would urge all of you to change your framing of that to, “Nobody here has been tested, so we don’t know if it’s here yet,” because that is our reality. People are contagious for up to a week before they show any symptoms. So, the infected client whose hair you cut a week ago could start showing symptoms in a few days. How many clients have you been in close contact with since then? 20? 35? How many coworkers? How many friends and family members? Who have they been in contact with since you unwittingly exposed them?

This virus has been transmitted this way in this country without detection for weeks. Don’t panic, but it’s extremely unlikely that nobody in your area has been exposed.

Right now, professionals like you have two choices:
1.) You can continue to go to work, putting yourselves and the public at high risk. You’re very likely to get ill and miss work for a period of time anyway.
2.) You can take that same amount of time you’d spend sick and stay home with your family. Find opportunities to make money online (like user testing) or transcribing). These jobs tend not to pay a ton of money, but they can be done from home and require no qualifications.

I went to college for virology with plans to be a genetic engineer. Trust me when I say that they haven’t even scratched the surface of how far COVID-19 has already spread. The lack of testing, medical infrastructure, and insurance combined with situations like yours (where people are forced to work with the public to avoid devastating financial ruin) will make things worse and extend the time it takes for us to get past it. Please, heed the warnings of the Italians.

As far as I know, there are no state laws that impose restrictions on commercial landlords for rent increases. However, the rent remaining the same for eight years is a problem, as the value of the dollar certainly has not stayed the same in eight years. Every year, our dollars decrease in value, due to inflation. Between the years of 2011 and 2019 (the last eight years), the value of the dollar has decreased 13.6%, so your rent has actually declined by that amount over that period of time. The building rent may not have changed, but your landlord’s taxes and fees likely have, and I don’t consider it fair or reasonable to expect them to accept a 13%+ loss. (As a side note, if your prices haven’t changed in that period of time, you need to do a reevaluation ASAP.)

Thank you for your reply!

Yes, you can prohibit subleasing in your lease agreements, as well as prohibit the use of the space by anyone other than the leasee.

So long as your participation in the gift card process and your use of the receptionist and credit card machines are OPTIONAL (not mandatory), it’s legal. The landlord can sell gift certificates to her facility and only compensate the tenants when those gift cards are redeemed. (Malls and corporate/franchised enterprises with affiliate locations work the same way–the gift cards are sold by the mall or corporation and the store and/or franchisee only receive reimbursement when/if the cards have been redeemed.) The landlord CANNOT prohibit any of you from selling your own gift cards though, no matter how “confusing” she thinks it is.

However, if you are all utilizing software owned by the salon and/or if the salon landlord also controls the merchant accounts, I’d advise you to stop using both immediately.

You can absolutely provide the furniture. When you rewrite the leases, just make it clear that furnishings are included. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the upgrade!