Can a landlord break a lease if he just bought the place from my old landlord?
my landlord sold the building and now my new landlord is trying to break my lease by tell ing lies he only has owed the building for one month can anyone help me with this or do you know of any web sites i can go to to get ansrew
Answers:
Unfortunately, yes he can.
The new owner took it subject to your rights. that doesn't stop him from trying, however. I don't know what lies you are talking about and that would seem to make all the difference.
Possibly. It depends on the status of your lease. What is the term on your lease? What duties are you & the landlord assigned by the lease. Have you stayed beyond the term specified in the written copy? If so, the answer is YES in the majority of jurisdictions because you are now at Tenant-At-Will.
Legally speaking, the above answer is WRONG. Be careful what you read on here...
You need to get a copy of your lease and take it to a lawyer, ASAP. Do NOT rely on Internet research!
Only a lawyer with your lease in hand, familiar with the laws of your state can help you . .. any other advice is just a distraction
He probably bought it and the old leases. He can change the terms of the lease. Your lease with the old landlord is invalid. The new landlord should have you sign a new lease under his terms. If you have signed no such lease, then I dont know.
Yes, he can boot you out. I did it before for the purpose of renovating. I gave tenants deadline.
The new landlord can break your lease. However most landlords do not evict good tenants. As long as you have always paid your rent on time and have never been any kind of a problem at all you will be fine.
Basically, if you signed a one year lease on Jan 1, 2007, then the new landlord bought that lease with the building. You cannot be forced out until Jan 1, 2008. Period.
If you signed a lease which has expired and was renewed in writing, then that is also enforceable. If you signed a one year lease on Jan 1, 2006 and your old landlord just let it go (as if it continued as long as you lived there), then the new landlord can evict you with 30 days notice. A written contract can only be modified in writing (as from what date to what date), not verbally (as in, 'the old lease still applies').
Need more info as to the specifics of what is in writing. Also, some leases provide for the sale of property. If your landlord knew he was going to sell, he may have included provisions for that in your lease (my brother even did this with me).
EDIT: 'cyanne' is the one who is WRONG. If leases could be invalidated by the sale of the property, then the property could not be sold as long as there were leases in effect. Otherwise, landlords could transfer ownership to friends or relatives at will in order to negate leases. This would leave a lot of tenants out in the cold when properties become desireable for more affluent buyers/renters (as in NYC). A lease could be broken at any time. Leases are only valid because there is equanimity, which according to 'cyanne', they aren't.
Equanimity means that both sides of an agreement recieve something. All contracts are only valid if this is true. In exchange for a guaranteed income, the landlord promises a guaranteed place to live. Each side has given up something (money vs. space). In 'cyanne's' world, the tenant guarantees money, but the landlord guarantees nothing. That is an invalid contract.
The same theory in law that holds a lease valid is used to collect property taxes. When a closing occurs, the buyer receives a check for property taxes, from the seller, based on the percentage of the year that has gone by before the sale. If the taxes are $1000/year, and the closing is held on June 30th, the seller would owe the buyer $500 for the taxes because the buyer didn't own the property for the first half of the year and shouldn't owe that debt. When the buyer assumes the asset, he assumes the liabilities, like the taxes owed. Same holds true for tenants under lease; he assumes that guarantee of a place to live as part of the asset/liability equation.
Every state is different as far as the landlord tenant act goes, but I know in Washington State the landlord can not do that!
I was renting a house from a couple who wanted to sell the house.
I had almost a year to go on my lease and I was pit out by having to entertain real estate agents as well as their clients and I was also trying to raise a couple of kids and work full time so needless to say my patience wore out and I looked at my lease a little closer and discovered that they incluided a clause in the lease that prevented them from selling the house so long as I had 3 months or more left there.
But before I could point this out to them they told me tey had sold the house and I had 2 weeks to move!
Well, it was at this point I told them to kiss my *** and the war was on.
They tried everything to break the lease, claiming that because they were the owners they held some special privledge to break the lease.They eevn went so far as to send me a letter from some 2 bit attorney in which he quoted some law, I almost believed him since the legal aid attorney agreed with him.
I then said no way and paid for a real attorney who laughed at their blatant attempt to break the law. At the time my kids and I were on a subsidized rent progam and the landlords refused the rent from thet housing program but then turned around and demanded it from me, then tried to evict me for not paying rent.
This went on for about 4 months until they finally stopped paying a attorney to lie to them and just paid me to leave.
Moral of the story~ Ask An Attorney cuz nobody else cares whether or not you have a place to live!
Oh yeah they also tried to get me kicked off the housing program by writing a letter to the mayor.
very expensive lesson for them to learn and it looks like your landlord is about to learn the same way. I know in Washington State you can ask for and be awarded up to 3 times the amount of you damages which includes attorneys fees!
Some people think they can bully anyone they want and unfortunatley it often takes hitting teir wallet for them to get a clear picture on the whether or not you will be bullied.
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