Does landlord have right to sue for remainder of lease?

Question

landlord left apt a pigstye when he moved out. Took us 10 hrs to clean bath and kitchen. Told him according to the lease, apt had not been left in "a CLEAN, safe, and tennentable condition" therefore lease was null/void and that if I had EVER left a place in that condition I would not have received my sec. dep back therefore he would not be getting one from us. Offered to stay on at an increased rate for mo to mo rental or to use our 1st and last mo rent and be out at the end of 2mo. He announced that he is putting apt up for sale and we will have it showable at all times and be out with 30days notice.Is threatening to sue for remainder of lease, all court costs, etc, has left threatening msgs on voicemail, email, and had threatening letter Fed Exed to my work demanding the rent. We decided to vacate immediately and move in with family, put our things into storage because he has become so hostile. What can we do to protect ourselves?

Answer 1

I agree with everyone else, you needed to have photo proof of the condition (or a condition report signed by both parties) for your reason to stand up in a rental tribunal. I learned that it is necessary to take photos because of a landlord that tried to claim I'd painted the ceiling a different colour during my lease! lol.

My partner and I are currently in the situation of being stuck in a lease til Jan with a landlord who has put our property up for sale (four weeks ago). We have been subjected to 2 or 3 weekly "inspections" where people are brought through the property, and an open house every saturday. It is immensely frustrating but we don't have a leg to stand on - the lease states that the landlord can "bring prospective buyers through a reasonable amount of times, with a reasonable amount of notice on each of these times" which is complete crap. It's a total grey area and leads to a massive invasion of privacy, which we are experiencing right now.

This guy is a total nutcase, by the sounds of it. I really hope you had some documented evidence about the condition of the property to fight this wiht. Contact your local tenant's association and they will help you take your case to the rental tribunal (it is incredibly cheaps - only $50 here, and they always favour renters over landlords)

Best of luck!!! x

Answer 2

If the apartment was that dirty why did you agree to rent it?
How were you in a position to spend 10 hours cleaning an apartment that you had not given a deposit on?
Him leaving the apartment dirty did not make the lease null and void because you moved in. You accepted the apartment in the condition it was in by moving in.
Did you sign a lease? If you did then you are responsible for the balance of the lease.
BUT
if the landlord did all of the things you say such as telling you he will put you out with only 30 days notice, threatening messages, fed ex to your job then you would have a counter claim if he does sue you for breach of contract.
He will probably just let you go and forget about it.
There really isn't much you can do to protect yourself except talk to the landlord, if he wants you to leave so he can sell he may agree to let you out of the lease. Get this in writting if he agrees to it.

Answer 3

I hope you have photo's of how it looked when you moved in. Since your Landlord is ending the lease because he is selling the apartment, he cannot sue you for months remaining on the lease. Have that 30 day notice he sent you in case you have to go to court. I would also find your local tenant laws and contact legal aide in your county. You may have a counter suit for harrassment. If your last month rent is paid for, you have nothing to worry about. Your LL is just being irate and greedy. Keep all payment reciepts. Your landlord will look like a fool when he tells the judge why he feels you should pay, and the judge will rule in your favor.

Next time, if the apartment looks like how you described it, DO NOT MOVE THERE. Even if you do not have to pay a security deposit. This means you have a cheap, lazy landlord who does not care about the well being of his property or his tenants. Your landlord sounds like a total wack job. This was your warning.


I too was in a similar situation, however, the landlord deducted $200 off the rent for us to clean. Then when he sold the property, the real estate company had keys. They came in one morning while I was sleep on my sofa, after working all night, with nothing on but a t-shirt. I flipped out at them, I went into total rampage about being a single lady and and invasion of privacy-since I was not notified of potential buyers and because they neglected to knock before entering. I must have looked and sounded half crazy because everyone apologized, and left quickly. Needless to say, the potential buyers did not buy the property and the real estate agent lost the case. I also got a deduction off my rent for this!

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Well you don't owe rent per se, but you may have by moving out early. I hope you kept that 30 days notice letter. Cause that will mean you don't probably owe rent.

Read you lease agreement, it should clarify what is due in this case.

If you don't have documentation (i.e. photos of move in), then you don't have crap

Answer 5

There are lawyers who specialize in this sort of thing, you need to get a hold of one. You may be able to counter sue this fellow for several things including harrassment. Worth checking into.

Answer 6

If you didn't take photos of the apartment just prior to having to clean it yourselves, or have the condition he left it in documented in any way, then you are pretty much screwed.

Answer 7

read tenant law in your state ... google will find it