I'm being sued for rent when there was no type of lease agreement. Can someone give me advice on what to do?

Question

A friend of mine found a job in another state, and did not want to sale or loose her home. So I told her I would live there and make the payments for her. We had no type of lease agreement. I lived there for a year in a half and out of the blue with no warning, she told me she wanted her house back and gave me only 2 weeks to get out. So I stoped payment on the check I sent her, so I would have money to move, now she is taking me to small claims court and wants me to pay her 3000. She even left the utilities in her name. I left the house in good condition and she trying to say i left damages. Can any one give me some advice in this situation?

Answer 1

That's a semi-tough one, but I LOVE a challenge! Since you were there a year and a half there was an IMPLIED contract. (I am NOT an attorney, so depending on your state there may be some differences). She should have given you 30 days notice, and you shouldn't have had to pay rent from the date that you left. If your check covered a month, like December, say, and she wanted you out in two weeks for no reason other than she just wanted the house back, you should only owe the rent for the first two weeks of the month. I wish you'd have asked before you left the house, I would have suggested that you take pictures to prove that you left it in good condition,,,for now it's your word against hers. I doubt she would get $3000 in small claims court since you were technically in a month to month IMPLIED agreement and she breached the 'contract' by not giving you proper notice. By the way, was her notice in writing or verbal?

Answer 2

You are going to court unfortunately so I'd get all of your ducks in a row.

Depending on the State, you may or may not be liable for paying her because, you state that you have been living there for a year, year & 1/2 and have been paying her, so you have shown a pattern of paying her for that 18 month stretch of time.

On the other hand, you have no written lease contract . It's my understanding that you have to be given 30-60 days to vacate under these circumstances. You owe her for the time you lived there, but nothing past that. I would have paid her a pro-rated amount for that month.

She is going to have to prove damage vs. normal wear & tear.

It sounds like another case of

NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED

You try to help someone out and you wind up screwed. I'd just go to court and hope for the best.

In Arizona, normal wear & tear doesn't kick in until you've been in a place for 2 years. (This has been pretty standard for every place I've ever lived .. and I'm a person with a 10 yr rental history)

Even though I only have a 1 yr lease .. if I move out before 24 mos/2 years, I have to pay a pro-rated amount for painting the apartment and that comes out of my damage deposit. So it's more like having a 2 year lease instead of a 1 year lease, with the main exception being you can have your rent raised after a year. No win situation I guess.. but it's not like it's a secret.. it's in the lease agreement w/ my signature on it ;-)

In the end, if she's running a rental property - should she be reporting this to the IRS as income, and I wonder if she is .. hmmm.. just food for thought ;-)

Answer 3

That sucks. I'd say since there was no lease, she's going to have a hard time making a case. But, since there was no lease, there was nothing stating she had to give you notice to leave either. Not sure if in your state there's any legal issue about notice to vacate type of thing. I would say pay for the 2 weeks you were there rent and utilities. If she accepts it, do up a contract for it. Whatever you do, don't blow off the court date, if you don't show up, she'll win by default. Not sure on your state laws, but I really can't imagine the judge ordering you to pay all she's asking without any lease agreement. It'll look better for you though if you at least offer to pay the 2 weeks portion though, and morally you'll be the better person, obviously she's a jerk for what she's doing and not giving you the decency of more time to look for a place. Good luck........

Answer 4

The fact that you paid rent is enough to establish the fact that you agreed to pay rent. Not having a lease doesn't matter. You still had a valid tenancy.

You should not have moved just because she told you to. That is considered voluntarily vacating the property. You don't have to leave a place without a court order no matter what anyone tells you.

In order to get you out legally, she would have had to give you proper notice as determined by law in your state, and most states require 30 to 60 days notice. If a tenant doesn't leave by then, the landlord can take them to court by filing for eviction as a holdover tenant.

Stopping payment was the wrong thing to do. You should have let her cash the check and told her that you weren't moving in two weeks. The Judge may make you pay her two weeks rent.

Did you take pictures when you moved in and before you left? I hope so because it will establish that there was only normal wear and tear.

Answer 5

Without a lease, your tenancy is month-to-month. The landlord must give you 30 days notice to leave; her 2 weeks notice was not legally sufficient. You should have simply ignored it.

You made the mistake of stopping payment on the rent check. She is legally entitled to that money so she will prevail on that part of the small claims court case most likley

If you didn't do move-in and move-out inspections with her the issue of damages will come down to who the judge believes. If you have pictures of what the property looked like when you moved in and moved out you will be in a good position to have that portion of the small claims case go in your favor.

When it comes to "he said, she said" in small claims court, the judge is most likely to believe the person who presents the most documentation on the case and behaves in the most professional manner. Do not speak to her in court, no matter WHAT she says! Only speak to the judge! Do NOT interrupt her, even if she does that to you. If she does interrupt you the judge should put her brakes on pretty quickly. If he doesn't, just look at him and say, "Your Honor!" He'll take control of the situation pretty quickly.

Your best approach in court would be to tell the judge that you felt that it was a do-it-yourself eviction and you just bailed. If the judge sees it that way, he may toss her case entirely. DIY evictions are illegal and most courts take a very dim view of landlords who try that.

Answer 6

With no (contract) when you go to court it's your word against her's make sure your have paperwork and pictures of the property or make she proves what damages she is implying. Since she evicted you illegally she probably won't get anything you should counter-sue and advise her that she should seek legal advice most lawyers will tell her she won't win. I've been a real estate investor for about 4 years now and know that when you go to court make sure you have all of information correct also it wouldn't hurt to get some legal advice from a real estate lawyer to make sure you have your case straight. Good luck!

Answer 7

Her case doesn't have merit, I'm pretty sure the judge would throw it out. UNLESS you two had a verbal agreement (and she could prove this) - i.e. "Hey so pay me this amount a month" etc. That might hold up, even if there is nothing that you signed. And she doesn't have to put the utilities in your name, she was just subletting to you, correct?

Answer 8

The check is the lease.

You would liklely be liable for any unpaid rent for the period you occupied the property.

The damages will be hard to prove.

You should offer to compensate for the prorated rent and save everyone some time and money.

Answer 9

in case you abandon the employ, then he ought to and likely will sue you. Frustration of objective states : Frustration of objective occurs while an unexpected experience undermines a occasion's significant objective for stepping into right into a settlement, and the two events knew of this significant objective on the time the settlement replaced into made. An UNFORSEEN experience ... and the two events KNEW OF THIS significant objective. in case you could teach those 2 factors, then confident.

Answer 10

well legally she has no recourse. and she only gave two weeks notice. so you technically owe her a half rent for the time you stayed but only out by moral code according to the law she lived there the whole time and no one else did. but personally i would pay half or only as much as i stayed there.