Money Matters
jlp41704
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Do I Have a Lawsuit?
To make a long story short, my husband and I found a cute rental home close to my work as he works from home. The landlord called us and said that she'd love to rent to us and after much discussion my husband and I went over to the house to sign to the lease. She's got the lease out on the table and we sign it, excited to rent a new home. Then, we got an email that night at 10:45pm saying "we cannot rent to you, good luck in your home search." WTF?!?!?!? We email her (don't have her phone number) and she gives no reason why she's suddenly backing out of a lease that SHE signed and WE signed. Is this legal? She didn't tell us to bring a security deposit that day, she previously told us that rent and deposit were due on the first. Then at the lease signing she said to get it to her ASAP. I would have brought the checkbook if she told me she wanted the deposit right then and there. Do I have a lawsuit? In my eyes she's broken the lease since it's a signed, valid contract. Thoughts? TIA!!
Re: Do I Have a Lawsuit?
I'm so sorry this happened to you! But I agree with the others. You don't really have any monetary damages and filing a lawsuit...I'm assuming you mean a small claims one...would just be a bit time consuming and prolong the anger. I'd just chalk it up to one of those things and move on.
I am a landlady and I promise you most of us are not bad people
. Just like there are good and bad tenants, there are good and bad landlords.
I am curious, did she already do a background check when you all met to sign the lease? That is one scenario where I could picture signing a lease with someone, on the condition their background check came out fine. But I would also make it clear, and have it as a written addendum, that the lease was dependent on the income verification, background check, and credit check coming out fine.
With all that said, I personally don't sign a lease with my tenants until AFTER I've done a background check, just for exactly the reason I don't want to pull the lease on someone and possibly leave them in a lurch.
Here's my story on the one and only time I almost broke a lease on a tenant before move-in...though it doesn't sound like this is a similar situation for you, OP. It's my only bad experience with an "almost" tenant and a lesson on why you should always listen to your gut! It was a couple and the man seemed like he had an aggressive personality. But I signed a lease with them anyway.
There was immediately some friction because they wanted to move in a few days before the 1st, which I told them was fine IF my current tenants moved out before the 1st. I never promised them that and our lease started on the 1st. Texting and e-mailing almost every day asking me the same questions I'd already answered over and over. I already regretted entering into a lease, but was going to abide by the contract I signed. Then the guy calls me the day before move-in all concerned and upset because he had "been by the house last night" and didn't see my tenants moving out.
I assured him they'd been moving out all weekend, I'd been in touch with them, and everything was still on schedule. He's still annoyed and states in a demanding voice that I had to give them their security deposit back if my tenants are not moved out the next day. I completely agreed with him. He starts SCREAMING at me. Yes, screaming. That I better refund their security deposit if my tenants aren't out the next day. Uh, yeah dude, I just said I would. I was really disturbed by this conversation all that day and came very close a few times to just calling them up and saying, "Sorry, this doesn't seem to be the right match for any of us." But I just couldn't bring myself to do that.
I should have! My tenants were out the night before, as promised. Then angry guy came over to move in with a "suspiciously" totally empty moving van. And started nit-picking every little thing about the house...the same one they had just seen 10 days earlier...and demanding their security deposit back because they weren't going to move in. I didn't need to give them back any of it, but I gave them back half in exchange for all of us signing a lease addendum, that basically released us all from the lease, plus acknowledged the return of half the security deposit.
(Shiver) the whole thing turned so ugly! I cannot tell you how many times I have blessed my lucky stars that those people never moved in. That would have been the real nightmare. And for you, OP. I'd take the same attitude. It's better to find out now that things would not have worked out with this woman than AFTER you all had moved in.
Happy ending to my story, I had awesome tenants sign a lease two days later and they moved in one week after that. OP, I hope you all find an even BETTER house for cheaper rent
.
On your application or contract did you submit to a credit check? Did you list prior landlords? If yes to one or both, she may have not liked the information on your previous history as a renter or bill payer.
These are both legal reasons for a landlord to not rent a property to you.