Collecting rent?

Question

my landlord has made no effort to contact me in the past 4-5 motnths. I have been living in the house for two years and did not sign a formal lease for the second year of my occupancy. How long does he have to collect or can he now that I am moved out and he is making no effort to colloect or even contact me

Answer 1

This is VERY dependent upon your exact lease and the laws of the state in which you reside.

In Texas should a person abandon their unit, they are responsible for the rent for the remainder of the lease period.
This means, if your rent was month-to-month, you could owe rent for the time you lived there plus the time you left the unit empty until someone else moved in or until the term of the lease was up. Most leases provide some sort of "if lessee does not sign a new contract then the lease is good for X (30,60,90) days beyond the end of the lease term OR until lessee gives notice".

Again it depends on your exact contract and the laws of your state.

I suggest watching your credit report because if he cannot track you down he may still file a claim against your credit with the 3 major credit bureaus. I also suggest finding your copy of the lease contract and reading what the provisions are for ending the lease.

Answer 2

Technically, the landlord has the right to pursue you for the owed rent. I'm assuming that your original lease stipulated that the contract changed to a month-to-month renting basis after the first year (most leases do, unless there's explicit wording to the contrary).

I would definitely break out your copy of the lease and pour over the fine print carefully.

Answer 3

This will depend on the state and maybe the city and coun ty you are in. Look at the tenant/landlord laws online for your state. it is likely that if he can demonstrate your presence in the house, a precedent of the lease for the first year and a date you vacated, he could get it in small claims court.

Answer 4

they will probably come back and demand all the money then