Maria/ME Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 There are times when only a hive mind will do...and this is one... Facts: We rent monthly. We are under contract to buy a home. The sellers are having difficulties and this is a short sale. That means everything is up in the air. We told our landlords this. Our closing date was supposed to be July 10th but I told our landlord that it would not be happening and we may be here even until August. They said no problem, they'd be flexible, let's keep the lines of communication open. We called to do that today and they said they've rented the house out for Aug 1st. We have to be out. We are not ready to close. What recourse do I have? Do they have to give 2 weeks/30 days notice to us? We had no idea they rented it out. They didn't call to let us know of it. Any thoughts on either the landlord or renters end to help me better understand each position?? Thanks.... P.S. We are thinking camping sounds like a good option....:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Do you have a lease covering the month-to-month situation? If so, it should stipulate how much notice the landlord has to give you. Or, your state may have laws about such a thing. We were recently renting month to month, but had a lease drawn up to that effect. The lease stated that we had to give 60 days notice to the landlord, but also that the landlord had to give 60 days notice to us, if he returned home or rented to someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 I believe that you will need to leave. You gave notice so there is your 30 day notice. You said July 10th and then you told them may be as late as Aug 1st. That means they were free to rent as of Aug 1. They did. Start planning to get your stiff into storage or find an apartment that allows month to month while your house sale plods on through. I would tell you to sue for the sale if it was a normal house sale but since they are already doing a short sale, I doubt you can force or claim any damages. I know this is very hard. We are renting and our lease will run out May 31st, 2009. Well we thought that for sure dh would either be PCSing by then or he would be retiring by then. Now we are not so sure. With the new GI bill, he will have to be on active duty on Aug. 1st 2009 to get thousands and thousands of dollars worth of educational benefits for our children. I am now fairly sure he will stay in until Sept 2009 if that is what the choice is. We will have to move our stuff to temporary storage and move into a furnished short stay place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate CA Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Oh yikes, that is just so awful. I am afraid that if I had been the landlord, "until August" would have meant just that - until August began. I don't know that you really have any recourse. I am sorry though and hope your house sale goes through very quickly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetfeet Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 You gave your notice and asked for extension until August and I think they took it to mean the first. I doubt they have to give you notice if you gave notice first. YMMV. Check your local laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maria/ME Posted July 14, 2008 Author Share Posted July 14, 2008 Appreciate the input...the fact is I said "even into August..." but you know, I get the point, that for them it meant August.... I spoke with the landlord today and asked when they finalized the agreement with the new renters. He paused a long, long time with me and said it was June 20th. Even though they aren't necessarily under obligation to let us know they rented it I asked "When were you going to let us know about that...?" ever so nicely (not challenging...) and I got the reply (quite challenging...) "We can piss and moan all we want about who said what, the fact is you have to be out by August 1st!" How lovely. So it's personalities more than legalities and I just want out of here if I have to camp for a month. Which it looks like is a strong possibility....I suppose technically I could fight it because NOTHING was in writing...however, I think my resources are better spent elsewhere... Thanks all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate CA Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Appreciate the input...the fact is I said "even into August..." but you know, I get the point, that for them it meant August.... I spoke with the landlord today and asked when they finalized the agreement with the new renters. He paused a long, long time with me and said it was June 20th. Even though they aren't necessarily under obligation to let us know they rented it I asked "When were you going to let us know about that...?" ever so nicely (not challenging...) and I got the reply (quite challenging...) "We can piss and moan all we want about who said what, the fact is you have to be out by August 1st!" How lovely. So it's personalities more than legalities and I just want out of here if I have to camp for a month. Which it looks like is a strong possibility....I suppose technically I could fight it because NOTHING was in writing...however, I think my resources are better spent elsewhere... Thanks all! I really am sorry. It sounds like they didn't really care what you said and weren't going to "stay in touch." That is very unfortunate. I have to agree that you are probably better off spending your resources elsewhere. It stinks when people are so ugly and I am sorry you had to deal with that. Hugs to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Do your sellers have any wiggle room? Could you lease from them till they are ready to sell? Sorry you are facing this, we just moved a few weeks ago and it's just not fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey in TX Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 There are times when only a hive mind will do...and this is one... Facts: We rent monthly. We are under contract to buy a home. The sellers are having difficulties and this is a short sale. That means everything is up in the air. We told our landlords this. Our closing date was supposed to be July 10th but I told our landlord that it would not be happening and we may be here even until August. They said no problem, they'd be flexible, let's keep the lines of communication open. We called to do that today and they said they've rented the house out for Aug 1st. We have to be out. We are not ready to close. What recourse do I have? Do they have to give 2 weeks/30 days notice to us? We had no idea they rented it out. They didn't call to let us know of it. Any thoughts on either the landlord or renters end to help me better understand each position?? Thanks.... P.S. We are thinking camping sounds like a good option....:tongue_smilie: Yikes. Your landlords have the right to rent the home as they know you're moving. It's a business decision, much like your buying a home is a business transaction. It stinks, but they're well within their rights to do so. We're currently waiting to hear if our tenants will be staying another year. After doing month to month, I'll never do so again. It's a huge hassle and very stressful not knowing whether the mortgage will be paid for the rental home that month from tenants or out of pocket. Sorry this isn't going smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fivetails Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I would check with your local rentals board - there must be something like that there... where I live, nothing that you've written that *you* said would be considered as you having given notice (ie, you didn't say "We will be out by such and such date" , you mentioned trying to buy a home and the situation and etc etc and "might be sometime in august" --- nothing concrete. ) and the landlord would be required to give WRITTEN 30 day notice if he's putting you out and renting to others. There are exceptions, but they are for very specific situations - ie, nonpayment of rent & being a danger to other tenants. That's our rental act, of course, but I would check yours out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 as that's what your landlord has to do to force you out. You can move voluntarily, but if you don't leave voluntarily, he has to go through a formal eviction process with you. Most states require 30 or 60 days written notice to evict a tenant for any reason, even for nonpayment of rent or expiration of a lease. It is expensive and time-consuming to evict a tenant, but in this case, you may well be morally justified in enforcing your rights as a tenant. The landlord's changing the locks or otherwise denying you use and enjoyment of the property constitutes eviction, and he would still (in most states) have to go through the legal eviction process. Now, you also need to check whether you can be slapped with the eviction costs if he has to do a formal eviction. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate CA Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 It is expensive and time-consuming to evict a tenant, but in this case, you may well be morally justified in enforcing your rights as a tenant. I have to disagree with this statement. I really don't think anyone is morally justified in forcing a LL to jump through hoops to force a tenant off their property when the OP started the process in the first place. I really do understand the frustration of having to move when one isn't ready, but she did notify the LL that they were going to move and that was in June (it seems from the conversation here). She said "even into August" but that gave the LL notice they were leaving--and a full month or more in advance. It is extremely unfortunate and downright shameful that he was so rude to her, but he is not doing anything illegal and is well within his rights as a LL as they gave the notice. I really feel for the OP, but I don't think this is a case for "enforcing your rights as a tenant." (Written conversationally and not confrontationally.) :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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