Tenant-Landlord issue - what are my rights? (real estate, 2014)

[jskudera]

I am currently a tenant that signed a 2 year lease on a house, January 2012 & it expires January 2014. We've verbally agreed to end the lease early, as there have been lots of issues the landlord has been ignoring (repair wise). On two occasions (July 2012 & October 2012), the central A/C unit went down. The landlord was of no help so I paid for the repairs on my own. I notified him about the charges but never took it off the rent. Now that we're ending early, I deducted it from a rent payment. He called and left me a message stating he would only pay for one bill, not both.

Given that I paid my full rent, minus the two bills, am I considered paid on time even though he is not willing to reimburse for the second invoice? He knew there was a problem and made no attempt to resolve it, not even a follow up to make sure everything was OK.

He never provided me with information on my security deposit, which I asked verbally 3 months ago, in which I got a response "It's in a safe place". I know by the law I have to request it in a letter sent certified mail. Not sure that really changes anything, but I thought I'd add it.

Basically, I'm trying to find out if I'm in danger of possibly being evicted because of this.

Thanks for the help.

[AdotAllen]

You would probably do better by putting this in the Renting forum.

[AdotAllen]

FYI - verbal never overrides written.

[Retriever]

Originally Posted by AdotAllen

FYI - verbal never overrides written.

As far as the law is concerned, everything that is relevant is contained "within the 4 corners of a contract"--which, in this case, is the written lease.
Verbal agreements cannot override what was agreed-to in writing by both parties.

[jskudera]

I apologize, wasn't aware of a renters forum.

My main question was if I'm current on rent since I sent payment less the repairs I paid for.

[Sergio M]

It appears that you are current. I would use the security money as rent for the next month and a half with a note.

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by Sergio M

It appears that you are current. I would use the security money as rent for the next month and a half with a note.

I don't do many rentals, but I'm pretty sure it's not legal for a tenant to simply not pay his rent and request that the security be used toward rent. The one case where such an act would be legal is when the landlord fails to notify the tenant of the bank in which the security deposit is being held.

[NJGOAT]

Verbal agreements/notices mean nothing. Of your three issues:

1. On the early termination, you need to sign an agreement that agrees to the early termination of the lease and clearly defines any costs/fees/responsibilities of doing so. Absent this signed agreement, the landlord could hold you responsible for the remainder of the lease until the unit is re-rented.

2. On the repair issue, as long as you have documentation and receipts to support it, you are within your rights to deduct the cost of the repairs from the rent payment and are still considered "paid in full" legally. The only argument the landlord would have about not paying for a repair is if the repair was related to something you did to cause the damage.

3. There is a very specific process to follow if the landlord does not properly inform you of the security deposit at lease inception and you want to use it for rent. The landlord has 30 days from receipt of deposit to provide the information and it must include the amount, name of banking institution and interest rate. If the landlord fails to provide the information within 30 days then you need to send a certified letter. This letter will state that the landlord has failed to provide the required information per N.J.S.A. 46:8-19. Pursuant to that, the tenant is claiming that the security deposit plus 7% per annum interest on the same from date the security deposit was given be used to offset future rent payments beginning with the next due rent payment. The tenant is also reminding landlord that per the above named statute tenant is now without obligation to make any further security deposits and landlord is prohibited from demanding the same.

http://www.state.nj.us/dca/divisions...depsit_law.pdf

[NY Annie]

Originally Posted by Sergio M

It appears that you are current. I would use the security money as rent for the next month and a half with a note.

Nope, can't just elect to do so. See below.

Originally Posted by NJGOAT

Verbal agreements/notices mean nothing. Of your three issues:

1. On the early termination, you need to sign an agreement that agrees to the early termination of the lease and clearly defines any costs/fees/responsibilities of doing so. Absent this signed agreement, the landlord could hold you responsible for the remainder of the lease until the unit is re-rented.

2. On the repair issue, as long as you have documentation and receipts to support it, you are within your rights to deduct the cost of the repairs from the rent payment and are still considered "paid in full" legally. The only argument the landlord would have about not paying for a repair is if the repair was related to something you did to cause the damage.

3. There is a very specific process to follow if the landlord does not properly inform you of the security deposit at lease inception and you want to use it for rent. The landlord has 30 days from receipt of deposit to provide the information and it must include the amount, name of banking institution and interest rate. If the landlord fails to provide the information within 30 days then you need to send a certified letter. This letter will state that the landlord has failed to provide the required information per N.J.S.A. 46:8-19. Pursuant to that, the tenant is claiming that the security deposit plus 7% per annum interest on the same from date the security deposit was given be used to offset future rent payments beginning with the next due rent payment. The tenant is also reminding landlord that per the above named statute tenant is now without obligation to make any further security deposits and landlord is prohibited from demanding the same.

http://www.state.nj.us/dca/divisions...depsit_law.pdf

^^ This.

Yes, there is a renting sub-forum, located in the real estate forum.

You need to read the landlord-tenant statutes for NJ. They are in a sticky at the top of the renting sub-forum.