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penelope_3001 · Mar 19, 2007, 07:33 AM

My boyfriend signed a lease with a guy for an apartment. They verbally agreed that the landlord would fix their walls that had holes and cracks in them before they would move into the apartment. But when they moved in the they were not fixed. So when the landlord did not charge rent in was assume it was for this reason. He did not charge rent for 1 school semester. Just recently he and his roommates got a letter saying that he was charging them back rent for all the months he did not ask for. I was wondering if this was legal or not. It seems like it wouldn't be, but I'm not sure. Any answers would be very appreciated.

excon · Mar 19, 2007, 07:45 AM

Hello penelope:

It looks like there was a written agreement... then a lot of verbal agreements after that - a lot.

Of course, the verbal agreements are binding, but in court (if it gets that far), the only agreement that will be upheld, is the written one. If that agreement says your boyfriend was supposed to pay, and he didn't, then he's going to have to.

However, what I would do, is move and make him sue your boyfriend. I certainly wouldn't pay this liar and continue to do business with him.

excon

Squiffy · Mar 19, 2007, 07:49 AM

When it comes to legla agreements, never assume anything! As for work needing to be done, it is usually best to have it done before yo sign anything, trhere are a lot of very unscrupulous landlords out there. Once you have signed you are legally bound by what you have signed. If he signed to say he would pay, he needs to pay. If it was written in the contract that the work would be done before they moved in (I would bet it isn't!) they probably don't have much chance of getting out of paying up. But I garee with Excon, get them all to move out (assuming their contract will let them)

ScottGem · Mar 19, 2007, 07:58 AM

One does not "charge rent". The signed lease specified that a certain amount was due and payable each month (or whatever period). It was your boyfriend's responsibility to make the payments on time. The landlord does not have to send any sort of notification.

Why the landlord let it go so far without asking for the rent I don't know. But he is legally entitled to the back rent. Now, your boyfriend can let the LL take him to court. He can then explain to the judge that he didn't pay the rent because of the promise to fix the walls. But the judge is likely to ask whether the rent was put in escrow until the walls were fixed. He might even allow your boyfriend to pay for the repairs and deduct that amount from the back rent owed.

But there is no question that he owes it and that the landlord is entitled to collect it.

landlord advocate · Mar 19, 2007, 01:49 PM

Divide the total amount due by the number of roommates and decide whether that sum is worth a civil judgment on the credit report, lower credit scores, derogatory info on file for the employer to see, higher interest rate for credit cards and car insurance. Think about it.

The tenants signed a legal agreement to pay rent and didn't. Are you surprised the landlord expected rent to be paid? He paid taxes, insurance and mortgage payments on the property. Don't you think your boyfriend owes the rent? A judge may listen to the story about the holes and cracks etc. but the result is the rent was due and payable to the landlord.