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I signed a lease to rent a house in Tampa, FL on 01/13/08. At that time the Landlord had stated that the current renter was getting married and was suppose to have had her stuff out of the house the previous week. My lease was for 2/1/08-2/1/09 (with me moving in on 01/26/08) and I provided first month and security deposit at the time I signed the lease.
I received an email (not a phone call) on Tues 01/22 from the Landlord stating that the place would not be available now until March 1st and if that was a problem. In the email she stated if it was a problem that she would return the money I had already given her.
I left both a voice mail and an email for her that night (01/22) stating that March 1st would be okay but my issue/concern is that I had bought furniture that I had to move 01/26 and I had no where to put it.
We spoke on Wed 01/23 at which time she told me that the current renter is no longer getting married, has a baby and now where to go. She said that because she felt bad that she was giving the current renter 30 more days to find another place to live (hence the place will not be available till March 1st). I am now worried that she is going to call (or should I say email) me right before March 1st and either push back the move-in date altogether or just allow the current renter to stay there.
I've read my lease agreement and it states that both the landlord and renter must provide a 30 day notice if either party wishes to cancel the lease.
My questions are:
If she and I both signed a lease for 02/01/08 is she able to do this just 4 days before my move in date?
Shouldn't she have called me to see if pushing back the move-in/lease date was okay before granting the current renter the extra 30 days?
Every state is different, but this is breach of contract. Once a contract is written, any amendments must be done in writing. Phone calls and e-mails don't count for anything. A lease is a contract. If she wants to negotiate the contract, it must be in writing as an official change. As for what can be done, you need to contact your state's real estate law professional. I get most of my info from the law library and the clerk there. They are very helpful.
The landlord has a problem... I think you would have no trouble in small claims court for any extra reasonable expenses incurred due to this breach....
Typically, storage costs, moving items from storage to the unit and your lodging costs come to mind.
You have a contract and the other party has failed to deliver... and the reason is not due to a natural disaster or fire, etc....
If this was a one year lease, the owner would be responsible for any additional costs you incurred finding a replacement...
Remind the owner to put any notices in writing and ask what are they doing to find comparable housing for you... you will need all of this if you go to court.
I totally agree. If the landlord is already breaching the lease contract before you move in... it's just a bad omen of things to come. Take your money back and run!
From the OPs perspective, the landlord is breaching the contract. From the current tenants perspective, the landlord is being a decent human and is helping her through a tough situation.
If the OP decides to ride it out a month they will wind up with a landlord that will be understanding and helpful.
Thanks for everyone's comments but the landlord is not a decent human being, turns our upon further research she is a criminal with a lengthy record and 2 current Grand Theft charges in 2 different counties. It would be great if she would just return the money but now she is refusing to, she won't even return phone calls. I met with a lawyer who has spoken with her criminal lawyer and it looks like I will be filing a civil suit. Although even if I win it’s still going to be a challenge to collect the money.
Does she even have a house for rent? It sounds like one big scam to me. i am so sorry for you. you're right- you'll be lucky if you ever see a dime, but sometimes you need to push through with this stuff if only to make you feel better.
Thanks for everyone's comments but the landlord is not a decent human being, turns our upon further research she is a criminal with a lengthy record and 2 current Grand Theft charges in 2 different counties. It would be great if she would just return the money but now she is refusing to, she won't even return phone calls. I met with a lawyer who has spoken with her criminal lawyer and it looks like I will be filing a civil suit. Although even if I win it’s still going to be a challenge to collect the money.
If she owns property, you can get a lien(sp?) on it, and/or her wages/earnings.
Basically, part of her paycheck goes straight to you.
She does not own any property, and I am told I cannot put a lien on the house since the issue is with her and it is not her property. Now the real owner of the property has it listed for sell. I have filed the civil suit; I now have my fingers crossed that they Sheriff's can actually find her to serve her with the summons. It just sucks that law abiding people get screwed because the criminals don't mind and know how to break the law to work in their favor.
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