Landlord is broke, should I pay last months rent or leave the deposit?
:confused: Hello all.. I'm from Cali and here is my problem. I signed a year lease Mar 07. This past Sept. the landlord tells me they are selling due to ARM loan and the mortgage now being double of what it was before. They were going through financial hardships and would not beable to refinance or pay their mortgage anymore. They wanted to get rid of us as soon as it went into Escrow. My hubby and I explained the Ca laws and that neither of us could terminate the lease without an agreement.
They did not want to "buy" us out at an agreeable amount. So we are still there. They decieded to not sell, then sell, then not, etc. Next thing you know a realtor is our front door snaping a photo from the bank that loaned then the money. According to him they hadn't paid and the bank was getting ready to file a NOD notice of default. The few times I've talked with the owners they tell me how broke they are so here is my question...
If I don't pay all the rent in our last month what could happen to us? We paid a security deposit of $1000.00 and the rent is $1400 leaving $400 for us to pay in the last month. The place is already way better then when we first moved in so that doesn't concern me.
The landlords are out of state, will they have to file in the county we live in?
We will be moving anyway... I really don't want to get screwed out of a deposit.
Thanks for all who may help!
PS. Yes the contract says "security deposit" and it also states we cannot use it to pay the rent.