Rental Lease Agreement

gypsymama · #1 02/14/07, 06:00 PM

My daughter moved out of her apartment she was renting while in school. She now lives in another city and will be going to Indiana in April for work. She signed a lease with two other students (a lease she has never gotten a copy of) and made a deposit, so she sent a letter announcing that she was not longer living there and returned the key, also acknowledged that she would not be getting a deposit back because she was terminating the lease.

She got a letter in the mail today from the manager of the units saying she is obligated to pay rent until the lease is up (June, 2007) even though she is not living there. The manager also acknowledged that she would forfeit the deposit, even though she would have to pay rent.

Does anyone know if this sounds legal? I'll call our lawyer tomorrow and see what he says, just wondered what others here thought or if anyone had experience terminating a lease.

DenverGirlie · #2 02/14/07, 06:21 PM

Absolutely, she signed a lease saying she would pay monthly rent until XX date. She has now broken the lease but still needs to pay the monthly rental amount, OR find another person to sublet her room in the apartment. (If apartment mgnt will allow sublets)

However, if she signed anything saying she would pay $XX amount of rent thru XX date then she needs to honor her word and pay the rent reguardless if she is living there or not.

Wolf mom · #3 02/14/07, 06:51 PM

She signed a lease - gave her word.
What about the other girls? Can they find another person sublet?
She could have gotten a copy of the lease at any time by asking. Maybe one of the other girls got a copy.
She may want to get a copy to see if she can sublease...I am sure any atty would want to see the lease also.
Good lesson for the future.

Fire-Man · #4 02/14/07, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DenverGirlie

Absolutely, she signed a lease saying she would pay monthly rent until XX date. She has now broken the lease but still needs to pay the monthly rental amount, OR find another person to sublet her room in the apartment. (If apartment mgnt will allow sublets)

However, if she signed anything saying she would pay $XX amount of rent thru XX date then she needs to honor her word and pay the rent reguardless if she is living there or not.

My daughter left school several months early and had to pay rent (with two other girls)till the lease was up. Its usually hard to find a sublet in the middle of a course. She traveled to the foot ball games on the weekends and being she was still paying rent---she stayed at the Apt at least one night on the weekends that they had a home game. Good Luck!! Randy

agmantoo · #5 02/14/07, 07:11 PM

I am experiencing the same situation but from the landlords side. The tenant has moved due to accepting another job and I have not leased the house as I am rather particular as to whom I select. I usually spread the word that I have a vacany just by word of mouth. The rent laws where I live state the tenant is responsible until the landlord finds a replacement tenant or the lease expires. I want to be fair so the question is.... How hard should I try to get a tenant? Any thoughts? TIA

Junkmanme · #6 02/14/07, 07:11 PM

When I got divorced, it was necessary that I sell my business. I sold it, but the buyer had his own location to which he transferred my business. So, I still had a lease with two more years to run. I called the owner and we negotiated a "settlement". I paid him "upfront' 5 more months rent on the lease and he released the balance of the lease term.

Your daughter might consider this option if she cannot get another student to "assume" her portion of the lease.

The main thing to keep in mind in negotiations is that EVERYONE must come out in a BETTER position. (ALL business transactions in my opinion MUST BE "WIN-WIN" or else it will "backfire".)

years and years of experience,
Bruce

gypsymama · #7 02/14/07, 09:00 PM

Thanks for the replies so far.

My daughter has asked for a copy of the lease agreement and as of yet has not recieved one.

It is a one bedroom apartment that the three of them rented and the other two are discouraging other people from moving in.

Sooo, I guess that it's better she learned this now instead of when she is older and has more bills.

rambler · #8 02/14/07, 10:11 PM

Good advise so far. I guess I too would wonder about the deposit tho, that part doesn't make sense if she continues to make good monthly payments. Otherwise, yup she's on the hook. Good lesson from young on how the world works.

And on how your friends treat you, if they are not letting in a new renter - they would be more 'in the wrong' than the landlord at that point?

--->Paul

cybercat · #9 02/14/07, 11:33 PM

I would thnk this is between the other 2 ex roommates to pick up the rent. If they all signed the lease then they have to pay the extra when she left. She should not have to pay it for she is not living there anymore. Also they can do a new lease for those that are there so that they cut it between themselves.

Or is it that the landloard does not know he rented a 1 bedroom to 3 people???

MorrisonCorner · #10 02/15/07, 05:57 AM

I was toodling along thinking "yes, she probably has to pay the landlord" until I got to "2 others discouraging anyone else from moving in." Are these two living off your daughter's rent payment? Did they sign independant leases of their own (effectively the landlord rented the apartment 3x?).

If there is a roommate situation, the issue is betweent the roommates. If the other two girls need a third to make it work they need a set time (2 months) to get the third in there. Depending on the notice your daughter gave them that time is either up, or not.

If, however, the landlord rented the same apartment three times (three different agreements with three different girls for the same 1 bedroom) that may be in violation of local codes. While I wouldn't go back at the man and say "I'm going to report you" right off the bat I would lay down specific time limits within which he must comply before you'll consider payment. So you send a trackable formal letter (which he must sign for) demanding the never delivered copy of the lease agreement. Tell him if you haven't received this by a specific date you will consider the matter closed.

Once you've got the lease, read it carefully. There may be a time limit, or specific obligations, to both the landlord or the other roommates. In a college town, dealing with the young and inexperienced, I'd expect that lease to be slanted in favor of the landlord, but read it carefully.

Then depending on what you learn, make a one time offer, basically to buy the lease out.

fin29 · #11 02/15/07, 06:26 AM

The remaining renters may have an obligation to try to fill your daughter's slot before the landlord can require her to pay up, though leasing a one-bedroom out to three people seems a little sketchy to me, and it would be easy to prove that her slot was unrentable, since who in their right mind (other than another close friend) would actually agree to share a bedroom with two other people? She may want to consult an attorney if the amount of money you're talking is substantial enough.

BeeFree · #12 02/15/07, 06:12 PM

I am wondering how the LL could rent a one bedroom to 3 adults. In MO you can only have 2 adults per bedroom, and sometimes it is allowable to have a baby in there. 2 children per bedroom if they are a certain age and same sex.

I cannot figure out how he rented a one br to 3 adults.

agmantoo · #13 02/15/07, 06:55 PM

IMO at the conclusion on the lease, provided the apartment is returned in good order excluding normal wear and tear, the landlord will be required to return the deposit within 30 days or the landlord is in trouble.

(B) Upon termination of the rental agreement any property or money held by the landlord as a security deposit may be applied to the payment of past due rent and to the payment of the amount of damages that the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with section 5321.05 of the Revised Code or the rental agreement. Any deduction from the security deposit shall be itemized and identified by the landlord in a written notice delivered to the tenant together with the amount due, within thirty days after termination of the rental agreement and delivery of possession. The tenant shall provide the landlord in writing with a forwarding address or new address to which the written notice and amount due from the landlord may be sent. If the tenant fails to provide the landlord with the forwarding or new address as required, the tenant shall not be entitled to damages or attorneys fees under division (C) of this section.

(C) If the landlord fails to comply with division (B) of this section, the tenant may recover the property and money due him, together with damages in an amount equal to the amount wrongfully withheld, and reasonable attorneys fees.

SteveD(TX) · #14 02/15/07, 08:25 PM

Here's my take: Unless your daughter added language to the lease that protects her in the event she moves out, I doubt very seriously that she will get off the hook. Leases are generally enforceable and any and all parties can be held liable in the event of non-payment. That means if one party moves out, the other two parties can either pay more or all could be in violation. If they don't, any one of the three or all three collectively may be held liable.

Of course, in reality if it goes to court, the the judge finds that the other two paid their share and your daughter didn't, your daughter will probably be made to pay by herself. In an uncontested suit, judgment could be rendered against all three unless the landlord doesn't pursue the other two.

I AM NOT A LAWYER, DO NOT PLAY ONE ON TV, AND THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE. :baby04:

#15 02/15/07, 11:18 PM

A good lesson indeed..what difference does it make if she didn't receive a copy of the lease? She signed it, so she's responsible to pay the rent.

I sure wish that I could afford to move right now..but my lease isn't up until June. The arrangement here is that if I move before then, I still have to honor the lease and pay the rent UNTIL the landlord finds another tenant..plus, I'd be responsible for paying for any ad that she ran in order to find one. That's perfectly fair IMHO..why should the landlord be out any $ ?

frazzlehead · #16 02/16/07, 12:24 AM

I'm curious how one signs a lease one has never seen.

Here, your apartment lease (all the ones I ever had) was a page or two of legal sized paper with lots of small print, and you signed at the bottom.

Signing was supposed to indicate you actually READ the thing.

Bret · #17 02/16/07, 07:43 AM

I would encourage her to honor her word even if she has to negotiate a dollar a week for a long time. It will be hard. I cannot explain it but when people pay their bills and honor their committments, it has a funny way of comming back. I want all of the good stuff for her.

What percentage of people do this? Only the ones who become wealthy.