my boyfriend moved out of an apt complex in houston?

Question

hello, I wanted to give him some advice. he broke the lease in the apt due to constant mold problems and his asthma/allergies. Iknow he has to pay something but now they told him he owes them 2400.00 he made sure the apt was **** and span and he even vacuumed before he left. he took pictures of the apt. now they say he left it in a mess and is charging him for carpet and repairs etc. they are trying to make him sign a paper staing he will pay 180.00 per month I don't know what his options are since i'm not from houston orig. everything is new to me too. he doesn't want them to put it on his credit report. they keep threatening him

Answer 1

He broke the lease--regardless of the reason--so he owes the money.

He can sue. The pictures will help. But he broke the lease. The lease stated the terms under which he could break the lease, and how to do it. He didn't follow those terms, or he wouldn't have moved out. Texas law is very clear on this.

He needs to go back and re-read the contract. Look over what it says were his options if the apartment became "untenable", that is if it couldn't be lived in. Texas contracts for renting an apartment are set by State law (this isn't the same in most states.)

He loses. They may be offering him a way to come out okay, but, he loses.

If he doesn't pay his obligation, this WILL, and SHOULD go on his credit report. He didn't live up to his side of a contract. All lenders, all apartment owners, all employers will want to know that he doesn't have the character to live up to his committments. That's precisely why credit bureaus exist: to tell others that this is a person that cannot be trusted.

Maybe he didn't understand the contract. Maybe he just signed the document without reading it. Those things too say he doesn't care enough about what he is signing to live up to his committments.

I shudder to think what he'd do with a marriage contract! (I'm guessing he wouldn't follow its covenants either.)

Answer 2

With the mold problem, he may have had a good reason to break the lease IF he properly notified the landlord in writing and gave them adequate time to remedy the situation. This is ESPECIALLY true in Texas which has some of the toughest mold laws in the country.

If he didn't notify them of the problem and simply moved out he may be held responsible for the balance of the lease until they located a new tenant. The courts have generally held that 2 months is adequate time to find a new tenant and will usually limit his liability to that. He would have an argument that the time needed to correct the mold problem shouldn't be charged back to him; the clock should only start once the unit was ready for human habitation again.

As to the damage claims, he should have performed a move-out inspection with the landlord or their representative. That usually prevents any surprises. Just taking pictures doesn't necessarily help since it's normally not possible to prove when they were taken but it's better than nothing. If it goes to court, frequently the one with the best prepared case comes out as the winner and having pictures certainly helps on that score.

He may well wish to consult with a local attorney and have them draft a letter to the landlord outlining the reasons that he should not be held liable. Often when a landlord gets a letter from an attorney they'll just drop things (surprise!) since they know you're not messing around.

He may also want to sue in Small Claims Court for any deposit that he lost. Often the best defense in these situations is a strong offense!

Answer 3

Give yourself sometime to make sure that you cover all the basis like if you guys are going to go 50/50 on everything then that's fine because it will be like having another roommate. The only problem is that new realtionships like yours needs more time to develop without adding that much closeness and if it doesn't work out one of you have to move. It can fun or it can be a disaster it's all depend on the two of you. Are your personalities compatible or are you guy going to clash sometimes. Well how much he's going to make in the future should not matter yet cause people's situation change all the time and anyway your relationship is not about living together to create a life together- you two are trying to save money so you should focus on the task at hand. Don't get way ahead of yourselves. Another problem will be that you guys are going to be all in each others businesses like who comes to visit and how much time you spend together and your relationship is going to go really fast cause you gonna feel like you are married even though you haven't said "I Do".

Answer 4

THE MOLD~PROBLEM alone I've heard COULD cause some-kind of resperatory problem 's' in people !?! & that could on some level could be a life threatening thing !?! I'm kinda sure !!?!!.. Now if he has ANY written staments on or about this possible heath risk.. that states that he has informed the correct person's way before-hand & they still had'nt taken care of it !?! Then THEY are at fault !!- But they could say that said person had plenty of time to MOVE !!?!! but then`again it's not the persons fault !! They did alert someone to the problem!! good-luck~!!!just depends on how early they spoke up about it !?! I guess will also make a big difference `'R"r.r`r,'->

Answer 5

Tell him to get a lawyer or if he can't afford that go to legal aid. Sounds like they are just trying to bully him into paying. If what you say is true, the landlord doesn't have a real case and will probably drop all harrassment straight away with only the whiff of a possible court case.

Answer 6

find out who the management co is of the complex and contact them.. the apt managers here can be REAL a$$holes if they wanna be!!! I'd go straight to the management company they will handle the situation in a more professional manner..

however, it very well could be a reletting fee.. the amount he's being chaged to break the lease.. either way i'd call mngmt..

Answer 7

Advise him to speak to a lawyer, what they are doing is called unethical and fraudilant. Its that simple, besides the pictures will back up what he says if it was a digital one since it can be read by date and usually not alterd

Answer 8

Take them to court. Landlords do anything to a tenant to get extra money but they can NEVER hold up in court.

Answer 9

tell him to shut up