S.F. landlord, others sue Twitter, allege unpaid rent
The landlord of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters sued the social media company on Friday after it allegedly failed to pay almost $6.8 million in rent in December and January.
SRI Nine Market Square LLC alleges that Twitter did not pay rent after being served with a notice of default in December and breached its lease in a suit filed in San Francisco Superior Court. The landlord said it drew from most of Twitter’s letter of credit security deposit of $3.6 million to satisfy the December rent payment, but Twitter still owes $3.1 million in unpaid rent from January.
The landlord is also seeking to increase Twitter’s line of credit to $10 million, based on a clause in its lease triggered by transfer of control of the company, but said Twitter has refused to do so. Elon Musk bought the company in late October for $44 billion.
The plaintiff is an affiliate of landlord Shorenstein and the JPMorgan Chase funds that own 1355 Market St., where Twitter leases 462,855 square feet of office space.
Multiple landlords are now suing Twitter over alleged nonpayment of rent, including the owner of 650 California St. in San Francisco, which alleged Twitter owes $136,260 in back rent last month.
The Crown Estate, which manages property for King Charles III of the United Kingdom, also sued Twitter for alleged unpaid rent in a London office, the Telegraph reported on Monday. And Twitter was sued by its landlord over alleged unpaid rent after vacating its Seattle office.
The New York Times reported last month that Twitter stopped paying rent at all its offices in an effort to renegotiate leases and cut costs.
Twitter, which laid off its communications team, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Shorenstein declined to comment. San Francisco Business Times first reported the lawsuit.
Separately, San Francisco officials continue to investigate whether Twitter illegally converted office space into housing. In an update posted Monday, a building inspector contacted a contractor to renew a tenant improvement permit in the building and seeks to do another in-person walkthrough of the space. An inspector previously found beds in two rooms last month.