[DocRaye]

I am asking a question for my son. The apartment where he lives was originally leased in his wife's name (about 9 years ago). She moved out of state about 20 months ago. He asked the landlord for a copy of a lease which she was unable to provide and also about getting a lease in his name which she did not do. Nothing has been done to the apartment since they originally moved in. They did do some hot water heater repair and it was deducted from the rent. Needs painting, new carpet, work done on bathroom fixtures, etc. Due to a company merger and a decrease in his hours, he has had to be late paying his rent. She is charging him $25 for the 1st 5 days and then $5/day after that. Seems excessive, especially with no lease. The original lease was on one page his wife said and really did not have much in it -- but no one can provide it. His name was never on it. The landlord knew the wife moved out.

He is now a month behind and cannot afford the late fees and is struggling to come up with the rental amount. If she decides to evict, how much notice will he get. He has a 9 year-old son living with him. His daughter went with her mother. Is there anyway he can avoid paying the rent due to the condition of the apartment? Without a lease for all of this time, does he have any rights? He has just continued paying the rent each month. He has been struggling since his company merger with FedEX last fall. Although late and paying the late fees she demanded he had kept the rent paid until now.

[ballengerb1]

Since he has no lease he is a month to month tenant. Without a written agreement she can charge late fees because it wasn't agreed to by both parties. She can kick himout with 30 days notice and he could leave with the same notice. When the last lease expired the landlord should have done an inspection and return all/part of the deposit to your wife. That money is still owed to her by the way.

[landlord advocate]

Your son is on a month to month lease. The fact that the property is in need of repairs or has been repaired doesn't make a difference. The security deposit that his wife gave the landlord is between his wife and the landlord.

If the rent is not paid, the landlord will file an eviction. What has happened over the years makes no difference. Depending on the state, the landlord may or may not be able to charge late fees. The total amount of late fees is also controlled by the revised code. Check for your state. Steps of eviction: Landlord posts an eviction notice... landlord files the eviction with the court... court informs tenant of the eviction and the court date... landlord and tenant appear in court... judge/magistrate decides the case as to whether the tenant is going to be evicted and tells the tenant the last day the tenant can reside in the property before the bailiff arranges for the tenant's property to be physically removed. Under normal circumstances, the time frame is at least 30 days from beginning to end.

[Fr_Chuck]

Yes, since he has lived there 20 months on his own, any old lease has no bearing at all, all would have expired. He as noted is on a month to month rental, which is basically verbal.

And no the late fees don't seem excessive, when you rent in normally lower income rentals, the late fees are normally higher to help force payment on time. But the fees are what they are, and your son has or had the right to move out if he did not like it.

The fact it is run down has little to do with his being late at this point

Even if you went to look at the condition, the rent still has to be paid into a escrow account set up and the owner notified. But I am not sure poor paint and carpet will rate not paying the rent anyway.
Esp if they he ( and her) lived in the place for 9 years, there is some normal wear and tear.

He can give notice 30 days he is moving, and they can give him a 30 day notice to move