I may need to get out af a lease. It is a residential lease and ends the last day of July.
Many reasons why.
I have a fairly decent case for breech of contract by the landlord but would really hate to go down that road.
Best advice to get out?
I’d rather not wait till end of lease, but may have to. Owner seems bent on making it as unpleasant as possible. Dumbass, how many tenants have you had for 8 years that pay the rent on time?
Replies
sounds like you answered all your own questions there.
we broke one lease ... lower level of a house ... owner was too cheap to hire a plumber to fix the sump pump ... we called the local building inspector, he came not sure why he was there ... I was real vague on the call ... he came in ... smelled ... said Yup, stinks ... but not my job to say so.
We said I Know ... thanks for coming.
the landlord took us to the magistrate ... we mentioned the township building inspector said Yup, sewer smell ... magistrate said he had no idea why the BI would be brought in but that confirmed what we said.
we won. Landlord also tried to sue us ... said he had to move our garbage bags from the back to the curb on trash nite ... 3 bags ... wanted to charge $150 "labor".
we got that money too ... township regulations said U put it curbside early and you get a fine. We moved out at the end of the week .. collection was mid week.
It got ugly ... we knew it would ... didn't care.
Best advice is to just leave and have your ducks in a row for the lawsuit. Our landlord was an ahole from the get go. I would have loved to pound him but kept my mouth shut, politely put everything into writting ... and got our money back.
another part of his suit was we repainted the kitchen. Our paint, our labor ... had his written approval to do so. He sued based on the color selection ... we painted dirty old white paint ... with new white paint! Magistrate didn't like that one either. Knowing he was an ahole ... we had pics of the whole place after we cleared out.
I brought my receipt for the carpet steam cleaner we'd rented, had the receipt from the one we rented when we first moved in ... and brought a resume ... showed I was a carpet cleaning tech for 2 years. Magistrate liked the carpets, liked the painting, liked the little landscaping we did by our door.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I'll second Jeff's advice. I've been a landlord twice, and I can tell you that the landlord's recourse (in CA and in WA) is expensive and difficult. You can expect to lose your deposit, of course. If the landlord files a complaint, you have your response (whatever it is you're mentioning above that may constitute breach). I suppose it would be wise to write letters to him trying to work out the issue, but not imperative.
Since you are in NY, your situation might be totally different. Out here, I'd let you walk, I'd keep your deposit, I'd try to get a new tenant. Take you to court?? Only if you completely destroyed the place and I knew you had assets.
You need to do a little research.
For example, in some states if you have a dispute over breech of contract or failure to maintain the property with a landlord?
You can pay the rent to a holding account until the dispute is settled.
I'm guessing he would rather have you break the lease than have 4 or 5 months worth of rent he can't put his hands on while the dispute is settled.
Despite what you may have read here............................in almost all states, a renter who does his homework has far more power than the landlord.
Here is a site that tells from the landlords perspective. mrlandlord.com
They also have state specific laws.
My lease is not hard to get out of but Im pretty reasonable .
Give me 30 days notice and the right to show the house in my presence and we can work with that .
Pay the next months rent and move out and we can work with that if the house is ready to rent again.
Those are better alternatives than me getting nothing or going to court and you might have nothing for me if I win. Ill take the bird in the hand .
Personally if you had been with me 8 yrs , it would be up to you what you wanted to do that was responsible . Id go with it becasue 8 yrs is half of a 15 yr note.
Tim
Thanks Tim, just weighing my options at this time.
How many properties do you own where you might feel inclined to drive your truck through the back yard on a daily basis, maybe stop and get out to pee on the other side, then maybe sit there for an hour facing the house?
Or decide since there is plenty of room that you will "rent" out some of the yard to park a camper on?
Or maybe stor some of your stuff there?
My right to peaceful enjoyment is being violated.
That sounds pretty bad .
Ive got some situations but they dont match that .
Ive got some storage buildings I dont let go with the house and a shop building I use for a warehouse thats with a rental as DanT does as well. . Ive got a small two bedroom on a huge lot that I park a 16 ft utility trailer on the back of the lot .
All situations were talked about before the lease . It would be wrong to move a trailer on a lot after the fact so no I wouldnt do that unless I asked and if they said no it would be no.
Whats his problem , do you know ?
It's a really long story, don't want to bore you. We have had other relationships, bus and personal in the past. He is hurting business wise and has other personal issues so he looks to make others as miserable as he is. I guess?
Can't be fun being him with close to 1,000,000. in RE in NC that won't sell or rent, in a membership gate community no less. Last I heard the big house was going on the steps.........4 unit apartment up the street vacant..........he's not a nice person. I regeret ever having hooked up with him at all.
My stupid trustworthy nature. I'll probably stick it out till the end of July. There seems to be a lot out there to pick from. I lack sufficient d/p to buy something and have an affordable payment. Prices and taxes are sick around here. Might team up with MIL and buy something.
Thanks so much for your response Tim.
you know i hate be'n a landlord where people live... love my commercial stuff but...
anyway... I have one duplex left... it's always rented I rent it for a few bucks below market and do a killer credit check... if i like you and and believe you will be no problem I MIGHT let you rent it...
I have a single guy on one side who use to smoke... the place had fresh paint when he moved in 2 years ago... now he has quit smoking and wants the place painted... I'm not a bit interested in painting a unit someone is live'n in... and he's the one who smoked it up... I also hate when a tenant paints... when we paint we put gloss on the trim... satin on the walls... and cut in right... and this place has nice HW floors... anytime somone has painted they just made it look like ####....
what would you do?
thanks
P
i would say just what you said,it was painted when he moved in,he smoked it up. he is not allowed to paint[should have that in your lease]. if he wants it freshly painted it will cost xxxxx to have it done right.
you will find out real quick how important it is to him
now if he is a great renter,i would tell him that and you will pay 25% of the cost to keep him.YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'TMOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THEDUCT TAPE.
I had close to the situation last summer and I refused.
I figgured t would be easiar to let them move out and lose them than to paint while they were in the house . About 10 times more labor and I dont like kids and dogs pulling at my pants legs while Im trying to work.
They ended up moving later over a different reason. Not that one .
I painted when they moved out and their deposit paid for it that way but it would have cost me serious if I had done it with them there.
Tim
i read through this thread and have a little input.
first question is,did you resign a lease every year for 8 years?
second when you break the lease,the landlord has to try and release it,if he releases it the next day,well you win,if it takes him till july 1st,you owe a big check. sounds like from your last reply,things are not renting well,so your place could set vacant for the remainder of the lease.
third i would have to ask ,what is the reason you want to move? i don't think the trailer being parked in your back yard will fly as a good reason with the judge,unless it just showed up this month. if it's been there for 4 months you have probably agreed to it thru no action taken on your part.
as said in some of these post,tenants have a lot of power in the courts over a landlord,but if it goes his way you could get stuck for rent that you didn't get use of.if you have any assets or every will have any ,he can attach to them.
now i've been doing this 31 years now and always handled it just like tim. but i have just had this happen twice,1:1 year lease,stayed 4 months,i've had trouble releasing it,and i am going after the tenant for damages,and i expect it to go well. 2: had a tenant with a 14 year lease,stayed 16 months,did a lot of damage,and i'm screwed,he has himself very well protected from me attaching to assets. i would guess this building will sit for 2-4 years vacant the way things are now.
if you have a solid case of breech ,go for it,but know there are 2 sides to the story,and his might be 1 you've never heard.it's up to the judge.
otherwise you owe 5 months,live it out and move on then. larry
YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'T
MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE
DUCT TAPE.
Thanks, I can't disagree with anything you stated.