Sharing a Studio Space

<p>I want to ask a question that i have about sharing a studio space. </p>

<p>I have a partner (friends for 20 yrs ) that i opened a studio space with that we signed a 6 month lease & the lease is now done. She has opted to leave the studio & not re sign the lease for 1 year & i have opted in on re signing the lease. </p>

<p>My dilemma now that i am having is that she has stuff stored there ( which i dont have a problem with as it is not much ) & we have agreed that she will be able to rent the space from me from time to time with my permission. That has been aranged & agreed upon & we were both fine with that. She isnt really that busy & would maybe use it once or twice a month. Upon signing the lease, the landlord put new doors & locks on the doors as we just had a deadbolt before. As he was doing so, she was there grabbing a few things & the landlord asked her to give me the new keys since he was leaving & wasnt sure i had one or not. He also said that if i had one he would like the key he gave her back. He knew who she was so that was no big deal. This is where i have my problem. She went on to make a copy of the key & gave the other back to the landlord & then nonchanltly told me via text that she made a key for the studio. I told her that i did not feel comfortable with her having a key to my studio since i was the one signing my life away for a year & being the only one who would be responsible for the space that she didnt want to be apart of anymore & opted out of. She didnt contribute much to the space other than paint & work. 90% of the props are mine that she uses, all the lighting & backdrops are mine that i have spent $1000's of dollars on. I just dont want her having full access to my studio space that i have worked very hard for & am now the sole owner who is responsible for it.</p>

<p>There is much more detail that i could go into but i think you can get the jist of it. Does anybody else have experience with my type of situation?</p>

<p>Should i let this go or not?</p>

<p>Change the locks. Tell her that it's the landlord's policy any time there is a modification to the parties on the lease. That actually IS a not-unusual policy, and you can surely get the landlord to agree with you that that's the right thing to convey (not that your friend should be having any further contact with the landlord anyway).<br /><br />Ah, the perils of doing business with friends. Good luck!</p>

<p>She is using you. If you continue to let this go, the situation could get much worse. She cannot have the keys to the studio because you are responsible for it. Since she is essentially renting it from you a couple days a month, you should hold her to it, and be there to open the studio for her. You need to have the landlord change the locks and explain the situation to him (it will probably have to pay for the re-keying).</p>

<p>She wants a ticket to ride free. Unfortunately "friends" can be like that. You need to think like a businessperson, not a "friend."</p>

<p>Another vote for change the locks, without delay. Even if you have to foot the bill. Your peace of mind is worth the cost. Give a copy of the key to the landlord and inform him in no uncertain terms that he mustn't even lend it to anyone without your permission. I guess you should probably tell him what she did so that he understands not to even loan her the key.</p>

Her name is not on the lease, she has the luxury of using it without a commitment so I would change the locks. I would

make sure that she cannot get in without your permission or rental fee. My bigger issue would be with the landlord that

handed her the keys.