Trying to find out if I'm being taken advantage of... (Harrisburg: for sale, real estate)

[suarezric]

i rented a house from a lady, she wanted me to stay here because noone would stay because its too far. anyway i stood here because i needed a place to stay with my children.

okay, she call me saying that her school taxes from milford pa are going up because my kids are going to school. is that true? cant that happen? she says that its because they are using the school bus? is that true. i dont know, i feel like she is tryin to pull more money off me or she is mad because she thought she could use me to come over here at her house when ever she wanted and hasnt been happening.

she also says that the community is the one that is raiseing her taxes please help any answers will be appreciated. i want to know what im dealing with because if she is tryin to stick me then im going to tell her that im out.

[thecoalman]

While it's certainly possible her taxes may be going which is typically passed onto the tenant the reason she gives is bogus. School tax increases are never subjected to just one person.

[PeeAye Native]

None of that is true. Taxes on a property or an individual person do not go up or down because kids go to school or take a bus to school.

The part about the community raising her taxes is possible, but they are not taxes they are association fees, and if true those fees have nothing to do with municipal, county or school district taxes. I'm gonna guess by your description you rented based on a verbal agreement, not on a written lease.

I'd suggest you contact your state legislator's office to ask for some help, that's what the office staffs are there for. They will likely direct you to another office, maybe state AG's office or whatever.

[toobusytoday]

I agree with the above posters. School taxes are not different depending on whether you have children enrolled or not. Everyone pays school taxes and as far as I know, that price is established once a year. Her school taxes certainly could have gone up on the place where you are living, but it would have nothing to do with whether there are children attending school or not. You can find out what the approximate taxes are here: Zillow - Real Estate, Homes for Sale, Home Prices & Values

[suarezric]

i got the place because a friend knows a friend type of thing. i didnt move in till june but i gave her the deposit for rent on febraury, yeah i think i did wrong there. i told her i wont be able to move in till june, but she was going to santo domingo and said she needed the money so i said okay. gosh do i regret it now. now she is saying i owe her march and april rent..? ty everyone for letting me know whats going on. im going to check zillow and those websites to find out if she is doing a grimy thing on me. she said she called and that they said its because the kids taking school bus.. but i have ask people around here and they say she is full it. then she says that she tried to send half of her taxes that are owed at the end of the year and that they didint accept it that they wanted everything together.. onces again i spoke to someone and they said she is full of it .. any more advice will surely be appreciated.

[teachbeach]

First of all, take a deep breath. School taxes are paid in September, and it sounds as though she didn't pay them or she's trying to take advantage of you. Just because your children are taking the bus, the taxes are not going up. The taxes will not go up until after next May, when school budgets and education funding is passed by the local districts and the state offices. So, for her to be telling you that she wants more money because your children are taking the bus is totally false.

If you agreed to move in June, but paid the money in February, she may have meant (and obviously the communication wasn't clear) that she couldn't hold the house and have it vacant. If you have a contract or a written agreement that your "lease" started when you paid her the money and is for a set period of time you may have to get some help here.

I would suggest contacting the housing authority in the county in which you reside. This all sounds a little off base, and you could get some help with dealing with the situation. Check the county website or visit the county offices and explain what you are dealing with to someone who can direct you to the correct way in which to handle this situation.

[BettyTheHun]

The above posters are correct about the school taxes. You are not responsible, don't let your landlady talk you into paying them, ignore her with regard to this.

What does your lease say? If it started in March, you legally owe her for March and April rent, as well as May's. If your lease started in June, you owe her nothing for those months. If there's no lease, just a verbal agreement, then you owe her nothing, and I would seriously consider moving out asap - she sounds like a slimeball.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by suarezric

i got the place because a friend knows a friend type of thing. i didnt move in till june but i gave her the deposit for rent on febraury, yeah i think i did wrong there. i told her i wont be able to move in till june, but she was going to santo domingo and said she needed the money so i said okay. gosh do i regret it now. now she is saying i owe her march and april rent..? ty everyone for letting me know whats going on. im going to check zillow and those websites to find out if she is doing a grimy thing on me. she said she called and that they said its because the kids taking school bus.. but i have ask people around here and they say she is full it. then she says that she tried to send half of her taxes that are owed at the end of the year and that they didint accept it that they wanted everything together.. onces again i spoke to someone and they said she is full of it .. any more advice will surely be appreciated.

As far as paying her taxes, the tenant usually isn't responsible for that. I suppose such an arrangement can be written into the lease, but I've never seen that happen.

Do you have a written and signed lease? If so, that will clearly show the months for which you need to pay rent. For example, if the lease runs from February 1 2011 to January 31 2012, then you are responsible for paying 12 months' worth of rent beginning in February 2011. If you do not have a lease, you probably don't need to pay the alleged back rent unless you took possession of the apartment prior to when you started paying.

However, if you do not have a lease, she is able to raise rent on you pretty much whenever she wants. She does not need a reason to do so. She can increase your rent because her taxes are going up, or because she doesn't like the car you drive, or because the sky is blue. She can even lie and say your rent is going up because the Russians have spies living in her home. As far as the law is concerned, it simply does not matter. To put it another way, she might not be able to make you pay an additional $100 in taxes, but if you're not on a signed lease, then she can certainly raise your rent accordingly -- and she doesn't even need a good reason.

You can find a copy of the Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Act here. I highly recommend that every single renter in PA read and learn this.

http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/uploa...tenant_act.pdf

Note that I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

[BettyTheHun]

Originally Posted by DowntownHarrisburg

However, if you do not have a lease, she is able to raise rent on you pretty much whenever she wants. She does not need a reason to do so. She can increase your rent because her taxes are going up, or because she doesn't like the car you drive, or because the sky is blue. She can even lie and say your rent is going up because the Russians have spies living in her home. As far as the law is concerned, it simply does not matter. To put it another way, she might not be able to make you pay an additional $100 in taxes, but if you're not on a signed lease, then she can certainly raise your rent accordingly -- and she doesn't even need a good reason.

You can find a copy of the Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Act here. I highly recommend that every single renter in PA read and learn this.

http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/uploa...tenant_act.pdf

Note that I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

Not a lawyer either, but if there's no lease and she wants to raise rent, the tenant can always move out. And it's likely she'd have to give the tenant a certain amount of time to move out ie she just can't boot her out that day cause she wants to raise the rent.

Love to hear from someone about the legalities when there is no lease, even though this is an uncommon situation.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by BettyTheHun

Not a lawyer either, but if there's no lease and she wants to raise rent, the tenant can always move out. And it's likely she'd have to give the tenant a certain amount of time to move out ie she just can't boot her out that day cause she wants to raise the rent.

That's exactly right. The Landlord-Tenant Act provides for a 15-day notice when the tenant is on a month-to-month lease. That's not much, but it's better than nothing. This is why every tenant needs to have every detail of their lease in writing in advance, signed by both parties. Without a signed lease, your protection is virtually nil.