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Being told I need to vacate by 10/15. Legal?
Drez
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Long story short/relevant facts:
- We've lived in this house since 1993
- We've been off lease for quite some time
- Our landlady and my grandmother passed away the same weekend late last year. As a result, my landlady's son inherited the 2-family house we're in and my father inherited my grandmother's house.
- A few months ago we had a verbal discussion with the landlady's son (new landlord) and we all agreed I would assume the rent and become the new tenant
- About a month ago the landlord put the house up for sale without actually telling me. He said he was going to do that eventually and would let us know but then I come home one day with a realtor sign on the front lawn
- Neither my father nor I have ever missed a payment. I last handed him a check on 9/12, three days early, while he was here doing improvements upstairs
- He noticed at that time that there was a leak so a plumber came in and checked under the sink - there was some rotting there which I guess the landlord wasn't aware of
- The landlord sent me a text about 30 minutes ago saying he needs me out by 10/15 because he has to do work down here and can't while I'm living here
The message was extremely abrupt and unexpected. I told him on 9/12 that I was still looking but wasn't sure exactly when I would be out. He did not say that I needed to move soon or anything. His text said he cannot let me stay indefinitely and that I should put pressure on my friends (I mentioned to him a potential subletting option) and now he is throwing that in my face. He also suggested that there are studios in the area that are cheaper than what I am paying him. I find that inappropriate given the tone of his email.
So, aren't I due at least 30 days notice I vacate? How does this work. I never thought he would pull this on me.
I can't really afford to drop and move immediately time or money wise. A lot of shit is going on at work and that subletting option probably won't open up until November at the earliest.
I also think it's shitty that he texted me this instead of calling me or discussing this with me in person. I haven't responded yet. Thoughts?
- We've lived in this house since 1993
- We've been off lease for quite some time
- Our landlady and my grandmother passed away the same weekend late last year. As a result, my landlady's son inherited the 2-family house we're in and my father inherited my grandmother's house.
- A few months ago we had a verbal discussion with the landlady's son (new landlord) and we all agreed I would assume the rent and become the new tenant
- About a month ago the landlord put the house up for sale without actually telling me. He said he was going to do that eventually and would let us know but then I come home one day with a realtor sign on the front lawn
- Neither my father nor I have ever missed a payment. I last handed him a check on 9/12, three days early, while he was here doing improvements upstairs
- He noticed at that time that there was a leak so a plumber came in and checked under the sink - there was some rotting there which I guess the landlord wasn't aware of
- The landlord sent me a text about 30 minutes ago saying he needs me out by 10/15 because he has to do work down here and can't while I'm living here
The message was extremely abrupt and unexpected. I told him on 9/12 that I was still looking but wasn't sure exactly when I would be out. He did not say that I needed to move soon or anything. His text said he cannot let me stay indefinitely and that I should put pressure on my friends (I mentioned to him a potential subletting option) and now he is throwing that in my face. He also suggested that there are studios in the area that are cheaper than what I am paying him. I find that inappropriate given the tone of his email.
So, aren't I due at least 30 days notice I vacate? How does this work. I never thought he would pull this on me.
I can't really afford to drop and move immediately time or money wise. A lot of shit is going on at work and that subletting option probably won't open up until November at the earliest.
I also think it's shitty that he texted me this instead of calling me or discussing this with me in person. I haven't responded yet. Thoughts?
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First, read your rental agreement / lease, if you still have it. While you are on a month-to-month tenancy, the paperwork should list your rights in regards to notices and termination. Consult your local landlord-tenant laws as well.
Second, notification by text is almost certainly not legal. Written notice, either mailed or posted to your door, should be required. In Oregon, notice by e-mail is also allowed, but only with the tenant's express permission.
A date of 10/15 also seems way too early, but this is where your local laws are most applicable. He may be perfectly within his rights to terminate a month-to-month tenancy at any time, or he might be required to give long term renters at least 60 days notice.
My Steam
I am in New York City (specifically one of its boroughs). Either way, according to the above, a 9/20 notice for 10/15 is not legally sufficient.
Also, I'm not sure a text message legally constitutes "written notice" - some websites suggest that it does not in some locales (such as D.C.).
The secondary problem I have is that I haven't lived anywhere else. I need a good reference for when I find my own place, especially since I have a semi-troubled credit history. I'm working on it, but I have a charge off in my past so I need to be cautious.
I don't want to create bad blood with my landlord in case I need a reference from him.
Not sure what to do.
If you find a new place but can't get a move-in date until Oct 18th or something then it may be worth fighting over, but especially if you need a good reference it may not be worth it otherwise
He may have told on the 15th on the basis of that being your next rental due date. Either way, the first step would be to tell him that you will need the full 30 day period (i.e., until 10/20.)
ed: as far as communication by text message, who cares? Just text him back and tell him you'll need the space until the 20th
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
You generally want to be able to keep track of all communications, in the case for some reason or another you guys end up in court. A text message is probably not the best thing to bring. Honestly, I would have him send you a notice. You don't have to be a hardass about it (though considering what you've told us, the dude isn't acting that cordial to you either), but something like "please send your request via email/certified mail/written copy as per our original lease/state laws".
I've been here since 1993. I don't want any bad blood. I'm more pissed because I feel like he should have told me his thoughts last week instead of assuring me that there was no specific deadline. He even said two weeks ago "don't worry, who knows maybe the new owners may even want you as tenants and closings could take months." All of a sudden his story changes? And he doesn't even have the courtesy to call me? He just sends a text? Really?
While I don't want bad blood, this has already caused bad blood as far as I'm concerned. Though he doesn't especially need anything from me so I guess it doesn't matter to him what I think.
At the end of the day, I don't think I'll be in a position to move in 25 days. I'm looking around but it doesn't seem likely given everything that is going on. So I'm steeling myself for an argument in the near future. Oh well. Looks like the law is on my side, but it's unfortunate that it has come to this. Out of the blue, no less.
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/rental_assistance/tenantrights
also save any messages and document in the event you need to take legal action.
I think you're right but I would certainly double-check. Call or e-mail someone who deals with this sort of thing to be sure.
Anyone have any ideas of good sites for apartment listings? I just got the local paper and I see some promising options but I don't want to live in this city any more and if I get locked into a new lease to live here for like a year I may vomit.
I've never really done hardcore apartment shopping before so I'm not sure where to start. I found one option in the local paper that I'm going to call about. What do I ask/say?
It should show that the debt was settled after the charge-off (is that same as default?). Everything reported is on there for 7 years unless the reporting company requests the info is removed, and even then the credit report companies may keep the info up anyway.
For finding a place I like hotpads.
Gives a list of places that is somewhat reasonably updated. They have a check availability thing, but it's easiest to just call honestly. There are of course some differences in what is available vs your needs because it just shows all the rentals, so timing can be an issue, but hotpads is still pretty good at looking up places.
if you paid a settled amount, that will still show as a black mark on your credit. but it should not show it as "in collections" or whatever.
I can address both of these
there's a plug-in/extender for craigslist rentals called "padmapper" that is indispensable. It will whack the time you spend going over listings by probably a third, and pulls all the info from plain craigslist into a web interface that lets you use normal and customary search/fliter features like sort by price, sort by SqF, by bedrooms, by pets allowed, etc. Also gives you walk-ability, nearby services, etc
A paid charge off will still read as charged off, honestly there's almost no point in paying for them unless they're still being collected. Some places will even return funds paid for a small-medium charged off account, because if they've already taken a tax deduction for it, it can mess up their books - But IF you can prove payment, dispute it to the credit reporting agency (experian or transunion or whoever) - in fact, it's not at all ineffective to just dispute every listing on your credit, some percentage of them will not have substantiating documents and experian will resolve the dispute in your favor.
When you settle a debt or pay a chargeoff, always negotiate the status of credit reporting - if you don't mention it, they will but a "SIF" or "settled in full" code on something settled and that will hurt your credit more than a PIF (paid in full), although it's still better than an open, past due account by a factor of 20 or so.
I host a podcast about movies.
Incidentally, we went through something somewhat similar recently, but our landlady notified us in writing and gave us 60 days (necessary by state law) to move. We found a new place within 1.5 weeks and moved within about a month of receiving the notice. We made looking for a new place something we did twice a day, checking Craigslist and immediately following up on leads. To quickly sort through ads and places:
1) Know what you must have (price/location/amenities) - for us, we needed a place that was low traffic so our cats could be outside relatively safely
2) Know what you will not take - we were only looking for a house, no apartments, condos, etc.
3) Know what you can be flexible with (location/price/amenities) - I ended up with a significantly longer commute, but I love where we live now