Landlord Can't Collect Waste Damages While Lease Remains in Effect

What Happened: A landlord discovered that a tenant had removed landscaping, added a sidewalk, and made other major structural alterations without notifying or getting the landlord’s consent as the lease required. The failure of the unauthorized alterations to meet building code, ADA, and other regulatory standards did little to relieve the landlord’s ire. But rather than evict, the landlord sued the tenant for committing waste, claiming that the alterations reduced the value of the property and would require hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair.