My mother recently moved. She gave a 30 days notice to the landlord of the place that she moved from. Her lease does not expire until December but the Landlord, was OK with it and signed a lease with another tenant, to move in when my mother vacated. The new tenant got drunk and showed his butt around the neighborhood so the landlord cancelled the lease with the new tenant and is refusing to refund my mothers deposit because of this. Doesnt this new lease void my mothers lease? Does anyone know where I can find these laws??
2006-08-19 15:49:31 · 13 answers · asked by Kim T 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
I don't see how he can withhold her deposit. The new contract was with someone else, not her.
you might try a site called askalawyer.com
http://askalawyer.com/
2006-08-19 15:57:42 · answer #1 · answered by Comfortably Numb™ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, the landlord does not have a new tenant for good reason so your mother is still liable for the rent through the end of the lease. The landlord does have an obligation to use reasonable means to locate a suitable tenant to minimize the losses suffered by the tenant who broke their lease. That bozo was obviously not suitable and he was fully within his rights to cancel the pending lease contract.
This assumes that your mother was still in the property when the incident took place. Had that tenant moved in before that happened, your mother would have only been liable for the time that the property was vacant. And the landlord would have had to evict the new tenant.
If the landlord is letting her off for just the security deposit, she's getting off relatively easily.
2006-08-19 23:41:20 · answer #2 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You mother needs to find a group or person who deals with renter problems. All cities will have a advocacy group that works for free. Your mother is being screwed over. However, her lease probably says that if she moves out before December than the landlord can charge her a certain amount because of lost rent until he can find a new tenant. I suspect this is what is happening. And if she doesn't have something in writing OKing her early departure she will have a problem. That is why she needs some strong professional help to lean on the landlord. It is not your mother's fault that the new tenant was no good.
2006-08-19 22:59:11 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best answer I can give you is to go to http://www.nolo.com and look at the Renter's Rights. The laws vary between states. First, your mother can be held responsible for up to three month's rent for breaking a lease early. Second, if the landlord agreed to let her out of the lease early she absolutely should have gotten that in writing. Third, unless the tenant who got drunk and showed himself has a copy of the signed lease your mother cannot prove that he signed a lease with another tenant while she was still in an active lease. But as I said, go to www.nolo.com or Google your state and 'landlord tenant rights' to get a more specific answer.
2006-08-19 23:32:05 · answer #4 · answered by Reagan 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the landlord allowed your mother to break the lease, then he must refund the deposit within some amount of time as it pertains to your state/county law. Now, you'll need proof of this if you want to sue the landlord for the deposit. Do you have anything in writing that states that the landlord approved of your mother's breaking of the contract with no contingencies?
Regards
2006-08-20 04:11:36 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
From the way I gather, your mother is entitled to her deposit back. I found a web site to let you know what to do. The first source is telling you about how to get your deposit back. The second is taking you through the steps and making sure you are doing everything legal. If these are not what you are looking for go to www.google.com and search that way. I just started putting tenant landlord laws in. Good luck!
2006-08-19 23:09:04 · answer #6 · answered by tranquility 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your mother's obligation ceased when the landlord gave a lease to someone else.
Laws vary in different states. In my state, a landlord is liable for up to three times the amount of security deposit improperly withheld.
2006-08-23 07:35:58 · answer #7 · answered by Barbwired 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That depends on what state this occured in. Go a Google for something called "Landlord Tenant Act" for the state you live in. This will pretty much give every right a landlord, and tenant, have.
2006-08-20 01:22:47 · answer #8 · answered by Cambion Chadeauwaulker 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your mother was on the hook until December, regardless, unless she got a release in writing. The only way that she could prevail in court is if she could PROVE that the landlord had re-rented.
BTW, she is also responsible for rent between the time she moved out until the landlord re-rents, regardless of notice. The LL cannot, however, just leave the apartment vacant. he must mitigate his damages by trying to get another tennant.
2006-08-19 22:58:16 · answer #9 · answered by normobrian 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
i think that when the landlord signed the new lease...that changed the story
2006-08-19 22:55:35 · answer #10 · answered by Winters child 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋