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I have been in my current property for 5 years. Same landlord and as I have been such a good tenant we don't have a lease. I pay my rent and life is good.
The landlord has just been served with divorce papers by his wife (who, BTW, is NOT on the property's mortgage nor named as landlord on the original lease documentation). Earlier this week the landlord's wife sent me an email asking that I vacate by 1/15/2015.
Now, my landlord does not want this to happen - he wants me to stay in the property as long as possible, as do I. So, he wants to draft a new lease effective 1/1/2015 which is good through 12/31/2015 and insert a 90 day notice period.
My question is, however, as his wife (who, in all practical terms is as much a landlord as he is) has already given me notice to vacate, would this notice override any subsequent lease document? Put another way, does her written notice supercede any lease document/agreement that I may reach with her husband - my "other" landlord?
No, his wife has no legal standing in your contract with the landlord. She might have legal standing regarding Community Property, but she would still be bound to honor any legal contracts that encumber the property, such as a lease. Her legal standing would need to be determined by the courts. If the husband owned the property before they married, and he has made all of the payments out of his income, then she may not even have community property rights.
Also an email is not proper legal notice to terminate a contract. I would not vacate based on her email. She probably has some legal hurdles to pass before she has any legal standing regarding her joint ownership of the property.
I would not hesitate to sign a lease for a one year renewal.
No, his wife has no legal standing in your contract with the landlord. She might have legal standing regarding Community Property, but she would still be bound to honor any legal contracts that encumber the property, such as a lease. Her legal standing would need to be determined by the courts. If the husband owned the property before they married, and he has made all of the payments out of his income, then she may not even have community property rights.
Also an email is not proper legal notice to terminate a contract. I would not vacate based on her email. She probably has some legal hurdles to pass before she has any legal standing regarding her joint ownership of the property.
I would not hesitate to sign a lease for a one year renewal.
This happened to me on a business property I was leasing. It was a handshake lease deal, and the two business partners who owned the space started fighting. The wife (who was not a partner) of one partner told me to leave ASAP, the other told me to stay. My lawyer told me to pay rent to the partner who wanted me to stay.
I did that for about a year before my business outgrew the space and I had to move.
Standard IANAL disclaimers. I now wonder if I should have just dumped the rent into an escrow account, but it worked out fine for me.
I agree too. Ignore her email and don't get into ANY discussion whatsoever with her concerning the property. You deal with the person with whom you signed the lease and are beholden to nobody else.
I'm with CptnRn too. Your lease us with the owner of the property. The wife may have no claim to the property even if married. I would completely disregard the wifes notice. Until you get a notice from the legal owner she can't do squat
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