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My Bf and I signed a 1 year lease on a home for a move in date of March 1, paid our security deposit, which has been deposited and cleared the bank. We received a call from the rental agency that the current tenants are "being difficult" and won't be out by the first. After asking a few questions to him, it came out that their lease actually expires March 18th. We are 2 weeks away and have to be out of my apt ( I called the office to see if I could extend it by one month---they have already rented it). What do I do in this case?
Your lease probably has a clause that says that if they can't produce the unit on the day you're supposed to move in, that they aren't liable for any costs to you. But, it should also say that at that point, you have the right to just void the lease.
So, see what your lease says.
And legally, if they can't honor the lease, then it's void - unless your lease has some other clause in it that you didn't pay attention to.
Anyway, your options are probably to either tell the landlord that there is no lease then, and you want your money back, and start looking for a place right away. Or, deal with having to move out of your place and pay for a hotel and putting your stuff in storage until the unit is ready.
Odds are that you won't be able to sue the landlord for any of the hotel or storage costs, though. If you could prove that the landlord's error in making your move-in date the 1st, when they should have known that the other tenant would not be out by then, then you could possibly charge them for the cost of your storage and hotel fees. But, if the other tenant said they'd be out by the 1st, even though their lease is up on the 18th, and the tenant changed his mind, and your lease says the landlord isn't liable if the previous tenant doesn't move out - you're stuck.
Anyway, would need all of the info to say for sure.
This happened to me once. Had to put everything in storage and pay for a hotel until I found another rental. My lease said the landlord wasn't liable if the current tenant didn't move out. C'est la vie.
In the contract that I used to use, this is the clause I'm referring to:
12. Possession of the Premises. If, after signing this Agreement, Tenants fail to take possession of the premises, they will still be responsible for paying rent and complying with all other terms of this Agreement. In the event Landlord is unable to deliver possession of the premises to Tenants for any reason not within Landlord's control, including, but not limited to, failure of prior occupants to vacate or partial or complete destruction of the premises, Tenants shall have the right to terminate this Agreement. In such event, Landlord's liability to Tenants shall be limited to the return of all sums previously paid by Tenants to Landlord.
Well, then you could play hardball. Tell them they need to honor it or pay your hotel bill, storage, moving in and out of storage, until you find another place. Can they put you in another unit?
You can tell them that you will win in court because they knew they couldn't honor the contract, since the current lease doesn't end until 18 days after you were supposed to move in, and because of their actions, you will incur costs that you will be asking for in court, along with your legal fees and punitive damages.
Or, they can do whatever it takes to get that tenant out in time.
Good luck. What a pain.
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