Breach of Contract by Apartment Manager (apartment complex, lease, tenant, rental)

[dlmifflin]

I recently placed a $250.00 deposit on a specific apartment in a complex I wanted to move in. The leasing agent told me the current tenant had provided his Notice to Vacate and that the apartment would be ready for move in on Dec. 11, 2008. She told me the deposit would hold the apartment for me and guarantee it would not be leased. I checked about a week later as to the move in date since I wanted to reserve movers. She confirmed it would be ready for a Dec 11, 2008 move in.
A week later I received a call from another leasing agent at the property asking if I still wanted the apartment (after I had already placed my deposit to hold that apartment). She said the current resident changed his mind and wanted to stay but that if I wanted the apartment it was mine. She said residents are notified that once they tender a Notice to Vacate they cannot stay if the apartment has been preleased. She said it was preleased to me and he would have to vacate. I again stated that I did want that specific apartment and no other one on the property (due to location, view, etc).
I spoke on another occasion to the first leasing agent and once again told her I wanted that specific apartment. I told her I was paying a reletting fee at my current apartment to terminate my lease so that I could obtain that specific apartment. It was worth it to me to incur the additional charges in order not to loose that apartment. I did tell the leasing agent I would be willing to let the current tenant stay until his current lease ended in February (because my company was not relocating to the town until February). I informed her I expected to move in no later than February.
Today I received a call from the manager of the complex (whom I have never met or spoken to before). She informed me that she had decided to let the current tenant stay and would not be leasing the apartment to me. She first tried to tell me that the current resident had only mentioned that he might move and that the manager was supposed to call him back to find out if he was going to leave or not. She stated that he could take them to court and that a judge might determine that they had to let him stay and it would take 90 days for the process...blah, blah, blah. She said that there were other apartments available. I stopped her there and informed her that I had let it be known numerous times that I was only interested in the one specific apartment, no other. I also informed her that she could end up going to court either way because, in the very words of two of her leasing agents, the apartment had been preleased to me.
She tried to tell me that there were extenuating circumstances that led her to decide that she would let him stay. She mentioned that I wasn't interested in moving in until later anyway. I told her I offered to let him stay until the lease ended in February but what she was telling me was that he was staying period. There was no guarantee that he would be moving out when this lease ended. She confirmed this was true.
My question is did the apartment complex breach the contract that we had entered into. The contract was that my deposit was to hold that apartment for me. They stated on more than two occasions the apartment was mine, the current tenant could not stay and that I could move in on December 11, 2008. If they did breach the contract am I entitled to damages? This has crushed my spouse to the point of despair. We have scheduled movers, tendered a notice of intent to vacate to my current apartment and have sold items/furniture and bought items/furniture based upon moving into this apartment. They are willing to refund the deposit but I feel they did not act in good faith. There should be punitive damages for the way they have treated me.

[sapphire]

Just find another place to live. Why would you need to sue? You said yourself you would be willing to wait until February, so why would you schedule the movers now? And no offense, but if your spouse is "crushed to the point of despair" over this, you may have some bigger issues down the road.

[dlmifflin]

We scheduled the movers because we were told the apartment was ready to move into on Dec 11, 2008. The movers were scheduled 2 weeks ago because in Houston you don't until the last minute to schedule reputable movers. We were only willing to wait until February out of kindness. The movers were scheduled 2 weeks before any mention was made of the current resident wanting to stay, so at the time they were scheduled there was no possibility of waiting until February. As for the reaction of my spouse being an indication of bigger issues down the road I must ask....have you ever been faced with the need to relocate due to your job? You love your job but you also love your current town and apartment. you want and need to keep your job but you're not pleased with the town you are relocating to. After endless searches for properties removed from the high crime areas you finally find one you want. Not only that, but as you look at the property before going into the manager's office you see one location on the property you comment on would be your dream choice. You go in and find out it's available. You make plans and changes based on the fact that you've been told numerous times it is your apartment. For weeks you have accepted and become excited about your new place. Then it is unethically pulled out from under you. It's not that much different from finding a house, putting earnest money down on it, working out a contract and having it fall through. I don't see that as an indication of "bigger issues down the road." I see that as a person whose serenity has been taken away by some young little manager with little scruples. As for why would I want to sue, well, I don't want money but I do want that apartment and I have no problem making a company honor their commitment to me. That's the problem these days...too many companies feel they can walk all over a person because they think we will "just find another place to live" as you put it. Sometimes there are no other places you want to live and sometimes you have to make a stand for what is right. Might not be an issue to you sapphire but try to show a bit of empathy rather than cynicism. Different people have different priorities. you could obviously live anywhere. We tend to pllace a value on our serenity and where we can quietly and peacefully live.

[sapphire]

Seriously, it is a freakin' APARTMENT.

Maybe someone else will jump on here and give you the sympathy you're looking for.

[NOTAM]

go to the rental forum. there are lots of folks on there who are in property management etc that can give you advice

[dlmifflin]

Sapphire, no one posted a forum here asking for sympathy or for your dime store psuedo-psychotherapy. A question was asked on whether the manager breached the contract. If you don't know the answer to the question don't display pathetic attempts to show intelligence you obviously do not posses. You are merely wasting space here and certainly not impressing any of us. It's not "just an apartment." That's why there are laws in the state of Texas governing this very sort of situation. Further research provided me the answer I was looking for. Do us all a favor and stick to topics you might know something about, maybe like sharing recipes or perhaps fashion tips, but leave your personal feelings out of it.

[sapphire]

Originally Posted by dlmifflin

Sapphire, no one posted a forum here asking for sympathy or for your dime store psuedo-psychotherapy. A question was asked on whether the manager breached the contract. If you don't know the answer to the question don't display pathetic attempts to show intelligence you obviously do not posses. You are merely wasting space here and certainly not impressing any of us. It's not "just an apartment." That's why there are laws in the state of Texas governing this very sort of situation. Further research provided me the answer I was looking for. Do us all a favor and stick to topics you might know something about, maybe like sharing recipes or perhaps fashion tips, but leave your personal feelings out of it.

It's an apartment.

[ocean2026]

Sapphire it is an apartment but its important to her.

if you have a written contract - you're in better shape. Also you may have to mitigate damages, is there another similar apt available? Finally whenever you do something - notify them in writing return -receipt, especially if you are claiming damages.

Look up landlord tenant law under property our bar association has a website with links to all the statutes -FREE

Aransas County Bar Association

[sapphire]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Sapphire it is an apartment but its important to her.

Oh, OK.

[Poltracker]

Actually, they really had no right to promise the apartment to you in the first place since it was not yet vacated. May be more than breach of contract...closer to fraud. The problem is, the only thing you can really recover is the deposit and they have already agreed to refund that. If you feel like pushing the issue, I suggest you consult a RE attorney (not the internet).