[crystal828]

I moved into a house in April 2010 and signed a one year lease with whom claimed himself to be the owner of the home. This morning, July 29 2010, I received a certified letter from the real owners stating that they would be moving into the house September 15th 2010 and I was to vacate no later than September 10th 2010. How is this legal? Do they have to cover my moving costs? Please HELP!!

[ScottGem]

Is this the first notice you received? Did the person who signed your lease, in fact, represent the owners? What state is this?

[LisaB4657]

Write a certified letter back to the people who say they are the real owners. Send them a copy of your lease. Tell them that you will be happy to accommodate them and move out by Sept. 10th as long as they immediately send you 3 months of rent plus moving expenses.

[ScottGem]

I think the first question that needs to be answered is whether you are sure the letter is from the "real" owners. If the person who leased the property to you was not legally entitled to do so then he committed a criminal act and you can sue him for your costs.

I would, at this point stop paying rent and put the rent into an escrow account until the validity of the lease is established. If the lease is invalid, then you don't have to pay him rental. If the "real" owner ask for rental, then they are acknowledging the lease and that means they can't throw you out.

So, before we can help we need to know the full circumstances.

[crystal828]

The letter was from the real owner's I called the county. Yes this is my first notice, and I believe the landlord did have permission to rent the house, but also he told me his name was Roger Barney and in the letter the "owners" said if I have any questions to contact Roger Berry?? I live in Washington.

[AK lawyer]

Assuming that the person you dealt with (call him "Claimed") was not the owner at the time you entered the lease, and further assuming that the person who just gave you the notice to vacate (call him "Real Owner") is in fact the real owner, you need to know whether Claimed was the agent Real Owner. Agency can be established by actual appointment, or by circumstancs which would make Claimed Real Owner's agent, even when Real Owner actually didn't make Claimed his agent.

If, in fact, Claimed was Real Owner's agent, Real Owner is bound by the lease and cannot evict you.

I wrote the above before I saw this:

The letter was from the real owner's I called the county. Yes this is my first notice, and I believe the landlord did have permission to rent the house, but also he told me his name was Roger Barney and in the letter the "owners" said if I have any questions to contact Roger Berry??? I live in Washington.

"Claimed" = Roger Berry.

Yes, it appears that Real Owner would be bound by the lease that Roger signed. My guess is that "what we have here is a failure to communicate". The real owners are not aware that Roger leased it to you.

[ScottGem]

Washington State or DC? If you have a valid lease then the owners cannot terminate it prematurely. However some states do have a provision for terminating the lease if the owners need to move back in.

Under these circumstances I would send the letter like Lisa suggested with a copy to the landlord (at the address you have been sending rent checks to).

[crystal828]

I am in Washington state, and yes the answers are helpful. I really liked the one about asking for 3 months rent and moving costs. The house isn't in the best neighborhood and I really wouldn't mind moving, I just feel they should have to financial help me in the process, cause if it were the other way around I would be bound to pay rent for the next 8 months.

[LisaB4657]

IMO it doesn't matter if the person who rented to the OP is the real owner, an agent, or just some fraud off the street. The point is that the "real owner" wants the house and they're either going to have to pay the OP to get out or they'll have to go through the courts to get the OP out. It won't cost the OP anything if this has to go through the courts and I can't see how the OP would be liable to anyone for anything. So it's in the OP's best interest to tell the owners to pay up if they want the OP to get out now.

[crystal828]

Thank you I will!!

[ScottGem]

I don't see anything for WA state that allows a landlord to break a lease to reoccupy the premises.

So this puts you on firmer ground. I would state in the letter, that you have a lease agreement that expires in April 2011. That moving prior to that date will cause you significant hardship and expense. However, you are willing to accommodate the owners even though you are not required to. As compensation for your hardship and expense and for consideration of agreeing to the early termination you will expect a payment of three months rent plus $xxxx for moving expenses (call around to get some estimates on moving costs). If they are agreeable to this arrangement please sign and return a copy of this letter with a check for the specified amount.

[Fr_Chuck]

Well I will disagree with Lisa on this one,

Here in Georgia, esp Atlanta, it has become a Craigs List fraud that someone will claim to be the owner of a property, and lease it out. They are merely crooks, don't have any right to rent the property. In fact they have broken in to the houses and changed locks to have keys.

Their rental agreements are not honored and they can be evicted. Since they have no legal agreement with the owner, they are in fact illegally in the home.

So the leases or rental agreements are not valid

The only person that can be sued by the renters would be the crooks.

This has happened normally to foreclosed homes but has also happened to some semi deserted property

This has became so serious here, that they have been making some notices that renters need to ask for proof of ownership before renting private properties.

[LisaB4657]

Chuck, my point was that the OP should give the owners the choice of paying her to get out on the date they want or having to go through formal eviction to get her out. If she has even the slightest valid claim of an effective lease then she will win. If the court decides against her then the worst that can happen is that she has to move out but she won't owe them any money. She also said that she would prefer to move out. So if she sends the letter like I suggested then she doesn't lose anything and she may end up with 3 months worth of rent in her pocket.

[ScottGem]

LI has had their share fraudulent lease agents as well. That was my initial concern though the OP says they have checked and the letter is from the real owners.

If this was a case of a fraudulent lease agent the lease would have been declared invalid, but the courts on LI have been lenient to the victims of this fraud in giving them time to move out.