Sorry this is a long one...I live in Philadelphia and my boyfriend and I rented an apartment beginning July 1st 2007. On July 1st 2008 our lease automatically renewed. In August we found a home we wanted to buy and decided to make the move into home ownership.
Our lease notes that we must give 60 days notice or pay a $200 early termination fee. Immediately upon making our decision we notified our landlord that we would be moving out of the apartment at the end of September. She then told us she would waive the early termination fee of $200 if we found a new tenant that met her qualification/standards. I immediately started looking for tenants and found a nice couple that she approved and they signed the lease to begin on October 1st.
On numerous occasions in the past with not only us but other tenants she conveniently "forgets" things that she agrees to. Knowing this I typed up a letter notifying her that we would be out of the apartment on September 28th at which point we would like to have a walk through with her to inspect the property. I also noted the verbal agreement regarding the $200 fee that she agreed to waive, as well as informing her of our forwarding address.
She received this letter on September 15th at which point she called me to tell me that she does not do walk throughs with tenants. The condition of the apartment is determined by the new tenants. I made sure to stay behind on our move out date, September 28th to speak with the tenants and they said the apartment was in immaculate condition.
30 days after our move out date came and went without any letter, money, or contact from our landlord. Seven days past the 30 days time frame we received a letter with the check which was short $200. Her explaination was that she does not recall agreeing to waive the termination fee and the $200 is for administrative hassles.
She received the initial letter on September 15th and waited until November 5th to say she doesn't recall the conversation. She went a week beyond the alotted 30 days and withheld the $200 even though she verbally agreed to it. If she was going to withhold the money wouldn't she have had to do so within the 30 days? Furthermore why would I have wasted MY time to find a tenant if I was to be charged the $200 anyway?
I feel as though we are being cheated and she is taking advantage of us, and we are not the first to have issues with her business prcatices. I would have gladly discussed the date and time she agreed to waive the $200 fee if she had brought it up during our conversation over a month ago. Since receiving the letter I have left several messages and she refuses to return my calls.
Can she do this to us? $200 may not seem like a lot of money but we work hard and don't feel it is right that she can keep this money because she "forgot" our conversation!|||Your conversation has little meaning, even if she recalls it. Verbal agreements are NOT binding. Whatever you have in writing is the ONLY thing that counts.|||The written contract controls.|||You should watch "Judge" shows on tv... all verbal agreements don't mean sh*t when it comes to legal purposes... Take it as a lesson learned and take the loss...|||Take it to Judge Judy.
;-)|||I agree with you that it isn't fair. Also, I don't see how your lease would have automatically renewed. I thought you had to sign a new one every so many months, as stated in the lease. I may be wrong. However, I think you would have been smart to get her agreement in writing. I don't think she has to uphold it. If you went to court it would be her word against yours. I agree that she should have said something about the 200 sooner if she didn't remember. I'm not a lawyer so you might call one and ask about your situation. Good luck. |||Your case alone is probably too little of an amt to take this woman to court, however, if your rounded up ALL of the previous tenants that you could find, it might be enough to convince a judge. You need others in the courtroom to prove this lady is crooked and that your case is not the "only" case that this has happened to.
Contact a Real Estate Attorney to see what all of your options are.
Contact the Better Business Bureau and report this seemingly "fraudulent" activity!|||Leases do not "automatically renew" unless this is something stated in writing on the original lease. You may not even have had a valid lease. Take her to court. You can sue over any amount no matter how small. Check with legal aid your area. You may even be able to get free advice regarding this case over the phone. Unfortunately. verbal agreements rarely hold up but if you were not a leased tenant at the time this may not even be an issue and she will owe you the money. ty and ask the next tenants if they will consent to a written statement about the move in condition of the apartment. Every landlord I have ever dealt with has done a walk through before and after tenancy. |||First of all - she is correct in not doing the walk thru with you - most states do not legally require that.
Verbal agreements do NOT hold up in real estate.
You are not automatically awarded double your security deposit. You have to sue, go to court and then it is up to the judge. In this case you have very flimsy grounds and it probably would not be worth the money it would cost to sue.|||Sounds like a case for Judge Judy LOL Verbal agreements are difficult to enforce. You have the upper hand with the written contacts. Small claims courts will judge the case on who has the MORE believable case. Bring original or copies of all communications you have received from and sent to her. You must give her notice via cerified, return receipt mail if you are going to file on her and she has 30 days to respond to letter. Small claims cases can be filed for about $60.00 (where I live) if it is worth your time. If you win, she will be responsible for reasonable fees associated with filing the case. Sometimes just the notice will encourage payment. GOOD LUCK!! |||go to small claims court. ask for refund of $200 and $400 for administrative hassles. Add all letter to your court file with time spent looking for new tenants that did not required the $200.
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