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ryder3385 · Oct 24, 2006, 02:55 PM

My "landlord" allowed me to move in about a month ago under the agreement (verbal) that there would be no lease and I would be paying on a month to month basis, now out of no where she wants me to sign a lease in which I do not6 agree with the terms of, is this legal? Can she evict me? Can there be compromise and a new lease agreement created? What do I do? :(

n808 · Oct 25, 2006, 01:33 AM

She needs to give you 30-45 days to move. It's the LAW. Talk to her. See if she feels you did, or will do, something negative to the property. READ the contract. What else did she throw at you.

RickJ · Oct 25, 2006, 04:00 AM

You are now a legal resident on a verbal month to month occupancy. The landlord give you a 30 (or more depending on your state) day notice to move... or a 30-day notice to either sign the lease or move.

ScottGem · Oct 25, 2006, 06:19 AM

A month to month verbal agreement provides little protection for either the landlord or the tenant. The tenant can move with nothing more than 30 days notice and the landlord can raise the rent or change the conditions with just 30 days notice.

And that's what they are doing. If you don't agree with the terms of the lease, try negotiation. There is no reason you can't object to some terms and have them stricken if the two of you can agree.

I suspect the landlord may be new at this game and someone advised him of his mistake in not getting a lease. But the bottomline is, if he wants a lease, then you have to sign one or move within 30 days.

Jrnyfn · Oct 25, 2006, 06:50 AM

I went to real estate school and I have learned that it is your word against hers . What I would do is first find out if the apartment you are rent is legal. Where I live people rent out there second floor to people and it is not legal. If your apartment isn't legal, if she threatens to evict you, then threaten her that you will take her to court..

ScottGem · Oct 25, 2006, 06:56 AM

Originally Posted by Jrnyfn

I went to real estate school and I have learned that it is your word against hers . What I would do is first find out if the apartment you are rent is legal. Where I live people rent out there second floor to people and it is not legal. If your apartment isn't legal, if she threatens to evict you, then threaten her that you will take her to court..

Umm no. Whether this is an accessory apartment in someone's home (and there is no evidence of that in the OP) does not mean that the landlord doesn't have recourse to get someone out. Whether an accessory apartment is legal or not is a matter of zoning and tax issues. It usually doesn't have a bearing on landlord/tenant relations. Obviously, though, someone renting an illegal accessory apartment is less likely to take someone to court and MORE likely to use other means to remove a problem.

Second, it does not matter whether it's the tenant's word against the landlord's. The fact is they have nothing more than a month to month agreement. Such an agreement means that EITHER party can attempt to change the agreement with 30 days notice. So the landlord has every legal right to change their mind and require a lease be signed within 30 days.

RickJ · Oct 25, 2006, 07:30 AM

Originally Posted by Jrnyfn

I went to real estate school and I have learned that it is your word against hers . What I would do is first find out if the apartment you are rent is legal. Where I live people rent out there second floor to people and it is not legal. If your apartment isn't legal, if she threatens to evict you, then threaten her that you will take her to court..

Something must have gotten misunderstood in the RE classes. This is not how it works.

If a landlord lets a tenant move into an apartment without a lease, then there is the landlord-tenant relationship: The resident is a "tenant" in a verbal month to month agreement.

There really is no formal definition of a "legal apartment".

ScottGem · Oct 25, 2006, 07:39 AM

Originally Posted by RickJ

There really is no formal definition of a "legal apartment".

Actually I disagree with that. Zoning laws govern whether an apartment is legal or not. Each locality can and does formally define what represents a legal apartment. Some areas are not zoned for 2 family housing so renting an apartment or even a room, might be illegal in that area.

But I do agree that whether the apartment is legal or not doesn't bear on the landlord/tenant relationship. Such is handled by different branches of local government. A Court that has jurisdiction over that relationship probably doesn't have jurisdiction over the legality of the apartment. They could, however, report the landlord to the Zoning authority.