Landlord sold house, says to move now

[Jacqueline Muth]

What is the name of your state?undefinedWhat is the name of your state? Georgia
My 26 year old son rented a house 11/1/04 and signed a simple one-year lease. The landlord (an attorney) sent him a letter approx. 4/15/05 and informed him that she has sold the house and he must be out by 5/1/05. She said that the lease has a clause in it that says if she sells the house she has to give him 60 days\' notice. There is no such clause in the lease. Although she has offered to write him a letter of recommendation, return his security deposit and give him an extra $1000 to move, this is very inconvenient and costly for him on a budget. What are the (economical) options for him

 

[SkeeterBug]

Not legal

the notice is not legal. If the lease says 60 days then she has to give 60 days notice but even a lawyer should know the law requires a 30 day notice. by rights he can stay there until the lease expires. If it was me I would demand more money to leave a thousand is not enough. I would make landlord return all deposits and pay all moving fees plus a fee for my inconvience. I think landlord being a lawyer would follow the law to the letter. I am not a lawyer but I have studied landlord tenant law. but to be safe I would contact an attorney. (not landlord)

 

[BelizeBreeze]

Sorry, but I disagree about this being a good offer.

Have your son return the "OFFER" with one of his own.

In it he will demand the full return of his deposit, the entire remaining balance of any unused lease AND moving expenses prepaid.

A fair offer should be in the $5 to $7,000 range.

It's call negotiation. And your son holds all the cards.

EDITED: And yes, the notice is invalid. But why inform her of that. As long as the notice is not reissued, there is no clock running.

 

[jnazareno]

Offer

Have your son return the "OFFER" with one of his own.

In it he will demand the full return of his deposit, the entire remaining balance of any unused lease AND moving expenses prepaid.

A fair offer should be in the $5 to $7,000 range.

It's call negotiation. And your son holds all the cards.

EDITED: And yes, the notice is invalid. But why inform her of that. As long as the notice is not reissued, there is no clock running.[/QUOTE]

lol...you sounded like a SF tenant...give me 7k and i'll moved.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

Ahh good point BB at the end. I'll have to remember that, just in case (which is the main reason I like this site...I enjoy learning additional things by people in the know!).

But, can you ask for the remaining balance to be paid, even though you haven't paid, per se? I understand there is a lease involved, and she is breaking it, so is it more or less asking her to "buy out" the remaining lease (like a company would buy out the rest of someone's contract).

Because the lease is valid. If the home is sold already then the NEW owner is the one who should be sending the notice. The attorney (old owner) has no standing.

If the home has not sold, the attorney (current owner) will know that she must either sell the house encumbered, (with the lease) or pay out the lease or wait the prescribed 60 days.

Either way, this poster can ask for $100,000 if he wants. and the owner knows this. It's not what he'll get but that's what negotiation means

 

[Jacqueline Muth]

Clarification/correction

I am the original poster of this issue and I discovered a typo. The landlord told them on 4/15 to facate by 5/31 (I had erroneously written 5/1 - so he was given 6 weeks' notice, not 2). Sorry. I do need clarification on the issue about the 60 days' notice. Can that statute apply if it is not specifically written in the lease? When I read the law it looks like the 60 days' notice only applies to a tenant at will - that is one who is on a month-to-month rental with no lease. The one-year lease my son has, which expires 10/31/05, does not state that she can terminate the lease with 60 days' written notice (although her eviction letter to him claimed that the lease did say that).
I appreciate everyone's assistance with helping us work through this and I have told my son he should make a list of all the costs he will incur, including his time in finding a new home, moving, etc. to present a counter offer.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

I am the original poster of this issue and I discovered a typo. The landlord told them on 4/15 to facate by 5/31 (I had erroneously written 5/1 - so he was given 6 weeks' notice, not 2). Sorry. I do need clarification on the issue about the 60 days' notice. Can that statute apply if it is not specifically written in the lease? When I read the law it looks like the 60 days' notice only applies to a tenant at will - that is one who is on a month-to-month rental with no lease. The one-year lease my son has, which expires 10/31/05, does not state that she can terminate the lease with 60 days' written notice (although her eviction letter to him claimed that the lease did say that).
I appreciate everyone's assistance with helping us work through this and I have told my son he should make a list of all the costs he will incur, including his time in finding a new home, moving, etc. to present a counter offer.

Absent a termination clause in the lease, the statute prevails. Regardless, there is no valid notice and your son should not be telling the landlord of this failure to notice.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

Georgia Code
44-7-6.
Where no time is specified for the termination of a tenancy, the law construes it to be a tenancy at will.

44-7-7.
Sixty days' notice from the landlord or 30 days' notice from the tenant is necessary to terminate a tenancy at will.

 

[Who's Liable?]

Keep in mind that the notice MUST be given ON OR BEFORE the billing cycle...

In other words, if the lease is a month to month lease with payment being due on the 1st of the month, the LL MUST give the notice on the 1st OR BEFORE for it to be "legal"

Further breakdown:
Month to month - April 1, May 1, June 1, July 1
In order for the LL to demand the tenant vacate on July 1, he needs to give 60 days notice, so the notice needs to be DELIVERED ON or BEFORE May 1 So any time during April up UNTIL May 1 the LL can serve the vacate terms... If the LL delivers in on May 2, it is void and the LL MUST wait until the NEXT billing cycle(June 1) to terminate the lease... It MUST be a FULL 60 days as well...