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I posted a while ago about problems with our landlord, and things have not been getting any better. Recently we received a shut off notice for our water as it was overdue $300 from past tenants, and long story short, we ended up paying it and taking it out of our rent. We sent a letter with our rent stating this and have not heard back from our landlord. However, we have also 1) never spoken to our landlord (a real estate agent found us our apartment), 2) was told by said real estate agent that water/sewer would be covered in monthly rent and got our lease back with it checked that it is in fact NOT included, and 3) stated we owned pets prior to moving in, real estate agent told us landlord had no problem with pets, and got our lease back with the pet option crossed out stating we are not allowed to have them. So basically we are constantly worrying he will show up with an eviction notice due to us having our cats (he knows we still have them) and are now stuck with another bill (water/sewer) we did not budget for. Our neighbors found mice in their bedroom and were told by other current tenants this place was infested with mice, we have a leaky faucet that has leaked since before we moved in, our water meter leaks constantly in our basement. It leaks really bad if we turn our hose on out front and water just floods everywhere in the basement. We are not sure where we stand legally speaking on breaking our lease, but we found an actual landlord that we have spoken to offering the place of our dreams and want out ASAP. However our lease states that we are allowed to end the lease early only if "Tenant continues to pay all rent until the end date of the lease, or any renewal term, or until a new tenant is approved by landlord and a new lease takes effect, whichever happens first." Does this mean that basically no matter what we would be responsible for the rest of our rent until next year? That seems to be a bit excessive. We also do not have the money to go to court if that would need to be the case. Thanks in advance for any advice.
When you signed the lease, you must have had to sign something (or apply online or over the phone) for utility service. No utility can simply put service in your name without a request from you. It's possible that this was worked into the lease, but I doubt it (the last thing any utility company wants to be is an arbiter of some landlord's legal documents).
While verbal contracts are legally binding in Pennsylvania, there are two issues here. First, verbal contracts are extremely difficult to enforce, largely because both parties rarely agree on what was said. Second, a signed written lease will generally override any previous verbal agreements. It definitely will if it contains language like "this agreement supersedes all previous agreements, written or oral". So with that in mind, you should forget anything the realtor told you. Nonetheless, I would contact that realtor's office and file a complaint in writing. At the very least, it will make you feel better.
If I recall correctly, the Pennsylvania Landlord Tenant Act doesn't say anything about what happens if you break a lease, so it's all left up to your lease agreement. Whatever it says in there is binding. However, if the landlord evicts you, it would be difficult for him to get a judgement against you for the remaining rent, as you left by his action, not yours. Not impossible, but unlikely.
The condition of the apartment is unfortunately irrelevant unless it is so far out of code as to be condemned by the local authority. Still, if you're constantly worried about being evicted, you might as well start sending complaints (always via certified mail with a return receipt) in writing for any issues you see. This may very well tip the scale and cause him to evict you, but now you have a reasonable claim of retaliatory behavior, which you are legally protected from. The issue here is that for each day that he's aware of a lease violation but does nothing in return, his claim is gradually weakened to the point where a district justice is less and less likely to award any damages.
If I were in your shoes and you do wind up getting evicted and going to court, I would point out the conditions of the house. While these aren't valid justifications for breaking a lease (unless the home is condemned or demonstrably uninhabitable), they are mitigating circumstances that can help ease the pain of any judgement that might be awarded against you. Ditto on sending the complaints in writing; if the landlord waits until AFTER you send the complaints in writing to evict you, that's a big point in your favor. Who knows -- you might even be able to pull of a laches defense and walk away owing nothing. I would also raise the points that the realtor made. If I were the landlord I would object to these as hearsay (unless the realtor was physically present at the trial), but if you wind up in court, it won't hurt to try.
Finally, if it gives you any peace of mind, most claims in Pennsylvania that are for $8500 or less are held at the district justice. This is our state's version of small court. Generally there are no lawyers (though either party may bring a lawyer), and there are no juries. It's just you, the other party, the judge, and whoever is sitting in the audience that day. Most (not all) district justices in Pennsylvania rule with a "common sense" approach to the law. That is, they are more likely to enforce the spirit of the law than the actual letter of the law. If you do get sued, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you go and defend yourself. If you don't, you have a 100% chance of losing. If you do go, even if you have only a 1% chance of winning (and your odds may be much better), that 1% chance is better than a 0% chance.
The bottom line is that you signed a lease and have to abide by the clauses in it as long as they don't contradict state law. The lease says you have to pay the water bill, the lease says you can't have pets and you signed that lease.
Maintenance issues need to be addressed in writing to the LL and he has to make repairs within a reasonable time frame.
If you want to break your lease you need to talk to your LL and come to a compromise. No judge will allow a LL to charge rent for the duration of the lease as he's required to mitigate his damages.
Thanks to both of you for the responses. We moved in May 4th. I didn't want to make my first post too long, but what had happened with the water bill was that the real estate agent lied and said it was turned off when the last tenants left and was to be turned on/put in HER name when we moved in. However in July is when we got that overdue bill and went to the township. They informed us that the water has been on this entire time (since May of last year) and all the REA did was flip a lever downstairs to make it come on completely. We signed the lease with the REA and she sent it to our landlord, who in turn would not sign it until a month after we moved in (he changed the move in and move out dates and everything) due to the fact that we are college students and nobody told him that until after we already had moved in and signed the lease. When we finally got the lease back, he had crossed out that we were allowed to have pets after we checked we had them and it was checked that we pay water/sewer even though when we signed with the REA she did not check that off herself. So basically we signed the lease and he was free to make whatever terms he wanted as we were not present when he signed it. We will never be going through a REA again for renting.
When we finally got the lease back, he had crossed out that we were allowed to have pets after we checked we had them and it was checked that we pay water/sewer even though when we signed with the REA she did not check that off herself. So basically we signed the lease and he was free to make whatever terms he wanted as we were not present when he signed it. We will never be going through a REA again for renting.
Guess what, my dear. You don't have a lease. You can give him 30 days notice (or whatever your state requires) and bid him goodbye. Why?
Because whatever amendments the landlord made to the lease after you signed it are illegal unless you agreed to those changes and minimally(and both parties must do so) initialed the clauses in the lease accordingly. You didn't initial anything, right? He made changes which he wasn't legally permitted to do. A contract cannot be arbitrarily changed by one party without the other's agreement.
Check the PA landlord tenant laws to make sure what the notice requirement is on a month to month rental agreement and then give your notice in writing by return receipt certified mail accordingly. Start looking for a new place to live.
You know, I did not even think about that! His initials are on where he made provisions, but not ours. However our initials are at the bottom as that was required at the initial signing. I will surely look into this. Thanks again.
Well. this is a tough one. PA law doesn't allow you to break a lease without paying the full amount owed under the lease.
" Pennsylvania In Stonehedge Square Ltd. Partnership, 715 A.2d 1082 ( Pa. 1998), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed the order of the appellate court holding that a non-breaching landlord whose tenant had abandoned the property in violation of the lease had no duty to mitigate damages.
This is a commercial lease case, but the court concluded the law without distinction of residential or commercial."
But, if it was me, I'd go ahead and move into the new place. Give 30 days notice to current landlord. And then fight it in court, if you have to. You can always say that you agreed in writing to certain things, then you were sent a copy that said the terms were different, which isn't legal in my book. Maybe a judge would agree that you could break the lease in that case.
But, it's possible you will be stuck with the bill.
Your best option, is to try and negotiate getting out of the lease with the owner.
You know, I did not even think about that! His initials are on where he made provisions, but not ours. However our initials are at the bottom as that was required at the initial signing. I will surely look into this. Thanks again.
Give Legal Aid in your area a quick call and they'll be able to confirm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe
PA law doesn't allow you to break a lease without paying the full amount owed under the lease.
If she doesn't have a legally enforceable lease (and in my opinion she doesn't) it's a moot point. Several years ago I went through something similar and the moment I pointed out the discrepancy to the judge and he looked more carefully at the lease, he immediately ruled in my favor
You know, I did not even think about that! His initials are on where he made provisions, but not ours. However our initials are at the bottom as that was required at the initial signing. I will surely look into this. Thanks again.
I'm not clear -- are you saying you checked a box marked "we have pets", and he scribbled that out? If you have a copy of the lease with your signature, the "we have pets" box checked, and WITHOUT his amendments and signnature, you're in the clear. Tell the landlord to kiss off and find a better place.
I would expect him to sue you, but if you show up with your copy of the contract as proof that he modified it after you signed it (and again, it is CRITICAL that you appear if you are sued), the district justice will very likely scold him for trying to enforce an invalid contract. Modifications have to be made above the signature and initialed by both parties.
Also, life lesson here: Never sign a blank contract and never send off a contract to be signed by a third party (there are exceptions to this, but now you're talking about major documents like mortgages and car loans). The people who require you to do either of those things aren't worth dealing with, because they're probably trying to rip you off. This goes double if "but they seem so trustworthy".
Yes, we checked a box stating we have pets and then where it asks "What breeds?" we stated our cats and their breeds. He scribbled out where we checked the box and initialed, but did not correct the area where we stated the breeds. We do not have a copy of the original before he signed it, because we were unable to do so. The REA had us sign in the apartment where there was no electricity on yet and scooped the lease up as soon as it was signed. It did, however, take our LL a month to sign it and return it because, according to the REA, he found out we are college kids and then changed his mind about renting to us. I don't know what changed his mind back to letting us rent, but eventually he signed it. We only received a copy after constantly badgering the REA for one for a couple weeks. Now we know why she was so hesitant to return it. Where he made changes is only his initials, not ours, and it is obvious it was altered after the original signing. The only place we may run into a discrepancy is where he checked off that we pay water/sewer after the REA told us we didn't and didn't check it off when we signed. He didn't initial the changes, just Xed the boxes.
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