I'm going to live in a house in New Brunswick, NJ with a couple of other people and we all signed the lease. Some of us paid for our security deposit and rent already, but some of the others us didn't. The landlord is refusing to give us a copy of the lease until more of us pay, although we're supposed to hand the payments by June 1st and we have 5 more days to pay it.

We need a copy of the lease to get parking permits and if he doesn't give us a copy of the lease, we won't get the permits and will end up getting parking tickets.

Is it required by law that he must give us a copy of the lease regardless of what payments we made or do we all have to make our payments first in order to get the copy?

I don't know about your jurisdiction, but where I am from the lease is not official until signed and paid by all parties involved. You can check your local landlord tenant laws probably at the local courthouse.

Yes, the lease will not be in effect until all have signed the lease and all of the deposits have been paid.

I would have assumed he would not have allowed you to move into the house until all deposits were paid.

Since you have aleady paid your deposit, all I can say is good luck, you do realise that these deals seldom work, if all the others move out, you will be held responsible for all of the rent.

So you need to get onto the others and get them to pay up.

Hello Herm:

Not surprisingly, I have a different take on the matter.

I suggest the lease was valid when the first person moved in. What?? His (her) lease isn't valid until the last person signs it? What if they don't? He (she) doesn't have a lease?? I think they do.

The lease may be made out with 10 (?) places for signatures, but if only 2 people sign it, and the landlord does too, then that's a deal.

I don't know how you let her move in without signing the lease. If she doesn't upon your demand, call the cops to have her put out. As long as she's living there without signing the lease or paying rent, she's nothing more than a houseguest.

excon

If I were the landlord, I would not want to give out copies of a partially signed document. After all necessary signatures are present, then I would.

Those who are obligated by being named in the lease need to sign and pay, those who aren't don't.

If anyone named on the document refused to sign or pay, the old lease needs to be rendered cancelled and a new lease needs to be drawn up and everyone named in the new lease needs to sign.

Presumably the only ones moving in are the ones named on the lease. Period.

Those who were originally in the deal in any manner and got cold feet need to be gone, gone, gone, especially after the poor timing of their cold feet.

Let's hope you all have a patient landlord after this kind of horse pucky! :eek:

I hope that helps. :)

Well, everyone including the girl signed the lease. But now she is trying to change her mind and says that she will only live there with unfair demands that we didn't agree upon. But I think she might have found a subletter. So that issue might be solved soon, but the Deadline for all payments is tomorrow and neither her nor her subletter has paid yet for all I know.

Also, I know that almost everyone except 3 out of the 12 people definitely paid. And also, we're already moving into the house. So, I would believe that he would be more willing to give us a copy of the lease.

The landlord is going to stop by and see what he has to say.