Does my landlord get away with this?

Question

I signed 1 yr lease in jan 2007 in june my landlord called said her and husband had problems and she needed to move back into her house and break my lease... I of course said no but felt i had no choice i started looking for place...she called back a week later said nevermind...she called again in aug said she needed to move back we found a place but told her we couldnt afford to move and would make her pay our moving since she wanted lease broken ...she said ok then again called a few days later and said nevermind ..well we already found the place and now we're moving like we agreed and she is charging us $25 per day late fees for rent we agreed she would pay because SHE broke lease .. now suing me for it and she gave me 3 day notice and filed a lawsuit in small claims date not until sept 28 but she emails me now and tells me she is bringing sheriff to lock me out on fri??? im moving anyways but can she use threats to get me to leave and lie about lockout etc? do i have a case?

I do have a papertrail ...after she called on each date she followed up with an email. And the threat about locking me out on Friday was done solely in email. All of it is documented.

There is nothing in the lease about her being able to cancel the lease with the exception of unpaid rent or damage to the property, which of course, there is none of. She just wanted to move away frome where she was at the time and she couldnt find an apartment that would accept her dogs...so she asked me to move ....when my husband mentioned legal binding document etc she got defensive and threatened to get a lawyer we said we would look for a place ..then she called back and appologized a week later said she found a place to move to everything was good ...then a month later she calls again and said the people she moved in with asked her to move because the dogs barked or something so she had to ask us to move again because she just couldnt handle the stress of trying to find another place again (her exact words) so we said fine we're done with this yo-yo thing anyways ..we found a place then she called again saying she found apt and not to move .now she wants $25 a day

Answer 1

She can't do that. You should definitely countersue and tell the court what happened. It would help if you had the dates that she kept calling you and the email she sent you. Bring that with you when you go to court.

Answer 2

She can't sue you - you could probably sue her for breach of contract. Make sure you bring everything you have documented.
If there's a lease, she can't give you a 3 day notice or have the sheriff lock you out. Sounds like she's a hot head and is just making threats. She would have to take you to court and get an eviction against you, THEN she could make you leave.
Let her take you to court, the judge will side with you, especially if you have the documentation you say you do.

Answer 3

You do have a case if you look at your lease and there's not a provision for the landlord to terminate the lease or if she didn't do so with proper notice. The yo-yo thing could also be a case for contstructive eviction and you could hold her to the first notice. Make sure you have a solid papertrail and talk to your local free legal advocate.

Answer 4

Did she actually break the lease? Do you have anything in writing? If not it looks like you are breaking the lease and moving out early. You might be able to defend yourself in smalls claim court for the late fees unless she purgers herself and says that she did not ask you to leave. You could call legal aid in your area and ask them what they think.

Answer 5

The best thing to do is read your lease as it is your contract with her. If at any time the contact is breached by either party, the contract is null and void. Look in your lease and see if there is anything about her vacating you from the property at anytime at her discretion. Let me know what you find!

Answer 6

I sure hope that you have at least some of this in writing, not just in phone calls. I wouldn't pay her a cent - and if she takes you to court over the money, tell the judge what you said here, and show any documentation that you have.

Good luck.

Answer 7

She hasn't done anything illegal, and has legal cause to break the lease. Homeowners are allowed to to move into their own property at will, the lease does not deny her right of residency.

You can not deny her occupancy in her own house and force her to be homeless.

On the other hand, the sheriff will NOT lock you out w/o a court order. She will get one easy enough, but she needs it first.

Answer 8

Here is your biggest problem. Can you document anything you claim she said? I'm sure she can document the fact that you are moving out early and that your rent is overdue. Verbal promises mean less-than-nothing once the courts are involved. I strongly suggest you seek the help of a tenants advocate. It doesn't look too good for your side.

Answer 9

without a court order the sheriff office has no power to lock you out nor can the landlord lock you out, it is called self-help eviction and is illegal,

hopefully she is leaving messages on voice mail save them for the small claims, also take allot of pictures when you move out so she can not claim latter you left the place damaged and such, when she tries to keep your security deposit or sue

Answer 10

besides the 1 year lease is their anything else in writing? or did you record the phone conversions? everything that was agree on should've been in writing or else it's your word again hers