Twitter sued for millions over unpaid rent in SF headquarters.
Twitter, the social media giant, has been hit with a lawsuit for millions of dollars in unpaid rent at its San Francisco headquarters. The suit was filed by Shorenstein, the real estate investment company that originally acquired the building at 1355 Market St. in 2011. According to the suit, Twitter owes $3.162 million in unpaid rent for January 2023, plus interest and late fees. The suit also alleges that Twitter did not pay rent in December 2022, and that Shorenstein was able to obtain the rent amount from Twitter’s $3.6 million letter of credit, which served as a security deposit.
The lawsuit comes after months of rumors that Twitter, under new CEO Elon Musk, had not been paying rent on its headquarters. Two other unrelated lawsuits were also filed against Twitter for non-payments. Additionally, stories emerged that Twitter wasn’t paying for janitorial services at its headquarters and that certain rooms in the headquarters had been equipped with beds, leading to an investigation by San Francisco’s Planning Department and Department of Building Inspection.
The suit alleges that, as part of Musk’s buyout last October, Twitter’s letter of credit was supposed to increase by $10 million, but that Twitter has refused to replenish the amount withdrawn from its letter of credit to cover rent owed and also refused to bump up its letter of credit. Shorenstein has declined to comment on the lawsuit and Twitter’s communications department was eliminated after Musk became CEO.
This lawsuit is yet another example of the financial difficulties that tech companies have been facing in the wake of the pandemic. With many businesses struggling to stay afloat, the unpaid rent lawsuit against Twitter serves as a reminder of the importance of staying on top of payments and meeting contractual obligations. It also highlights the need for companies to maintain a strong relationship with their landlords, as disputes over rent payments can quickly become costly and time-consuming.
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