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Owner is really pushing us to move out early so she can move in!

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M

Mapper

Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

We are renting a house. We signed a 1 year lease in January 2010. In October 2010 the owner approached us about signing a 3 year lease because she was moving out of state for a job and would be gone for 3 years and didn't want to have to worry about finding tenants during that time.

Well her job didn't work out and she moved back in June of 2012, almost 1 1/2 years early and had to find a rental herself. She stopped by at that time to look at some things on the house and asked if we'd be willing to move out in early May of 2013 (even a month earlier than her lease is up so she could sand the floors!) rather than the end of October of 2013 as our lease says because she wants to move back in and doesn't want to have to find housing for herself for those 6 months. Well back then I told her I didn't know what our situation would be but we would think about it.

She came by again in January of this year and asked again if we'd move out early. At that time my husband wasn't home and I told her that it probably wouldn't be a problem, but my husband didn't agree with that. We would like to buy a place but are still in the process of finding a lender and seeing if we can get a loan and need time. If we do have to rent again we still need time as May and June are extremely busy for us and we don't want to have to think about moving. She even tried to get me to sign something saying we'd agree to move out but luckily I didn't do it.

She came again a few weeks later to replace a storm door that had broke and at that time my husband confronted her and said that we'll do our best to work with you but if we can't find anything we can't find anything and we aren't going to be pushed out of our lease 6 months early to live in some crappy house simply because she couldn't plan for what she'd do if the job didn't work out. She apparently looked a little irritated with my husband and said she really wants her house back. That was where that was left.

Well this morning I get a text from her (even though my husband asked her to please text him from now on because I have to pay for every text whereas he has a plan) saying "Just touching base to see about moving out early. Could you be out by June if I gave you anytime in April-May timeframe to move out? That would give you a wide open window to try and find a place opposed to when your lease ends your window is going to be much smaller to find a place. Please consider it. I am so ready to be back in my house."

We are really getting fed up with her trying to push us out of here. She has no right to ask us to move out early and break the lease does she? Sorry she will have to go somewhere else for 6 months but she should have planned!
 


Zigner

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
You've asked this question on multiple prior occasions.

https://forum.freeadvice.com/landlord-tenant-issues-42/owner-asked-if-wed-willing-move-out-early-right-590296.html
 
S

sandyclaus

Senior Member
The owner certainly has the right to ASK. And you STILL have the right to say NO.

At this point, the owner has been allowed to continue pushing, and will keep on doing it until you and your husband put your foot down. I suggest that you do so sooner rather than later.

In addition, be very aware that since the owner is looking for any excuse they can to get back in her house as soon as possible, you want to be extra careful and be sure to follow the terms of your lease TO THE LETTER. Don't give her a reason that she can use to evict you. Keep all of your important papers with regard to your rental off-site in a safe place, as these have a tendency to "disappear" at the most inopportune moments in such situation.
 
H

HomeGuru

Senior Member
Mapper said:
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

We are renting a house. We signed a 1 year lease in January 2010. In October 2010 the owner approached us about signing a 3 year lease because she was moving out of state for a job and would be gone for 3 years and didn't want to have to worry about finding tenants during that time.

Well her job didn't work out and she moved back in June of 2012, almost 1 1/2 years early and had to find a rental herself. She stopped by at that time to look at some things on the house and asked if we'd be willing to move out in early May of 2013 (even a month earlier than her lease is up so she could sand the floors!) rather than the end of October of 2013 as our lease says because she wants to move back in and doesn't want to have to find housing for herself for those 6 months. Well back then I told her I didn't know what our situation would be but we would think about it.

She came by again in January of this year and asked again if we'd move out early. At that time my husband wasn't home and I told her that it probably wouldn't be a problem, but my husband didn't agree with that. We would like to buy a place but are still in the process of finding a lender and seeing if we can get a loan and need time. If we do have to rent again we still need time as May and June are extremely busy for us and we don't want to have to think about moving. She even tried to get me to sign something saying we'd agree to move out but luckily I didn't do it.

She came again a few weeks later to replace a storm door that had broke and at that time my husband confronted her and said that we'll do our best to work with you but if we can't find anything we can't find anything and we aren't going to be pushed out of our lease 6 months early to live in some crappy house simply because she couldn't plan for what she'd do if the job didn't work out. She apparently looked a little irritated with my husband and said she really wants her house back. That was where that was left.

Well this morning I get a text from her (even though my husband asked her to please text him from now on because I have to pay for every text whereas he has a plan) saying "Just touching base to see about moving out early. Could you be out by June if I gave you anytime in April-May timeframe to move out? That would give you a wide open window to try and find a place opposed to when your lease ends your window is going to be much smaller to find a place. Please consider it. I am so ready to be back in my house."

We are really getting fed up with her trying to push us out of here. She has no right to ask us to move out early and break the lease does she? Sorry she will have to go somewhere else for 6 months but she should have planned!
Click to expand...

**A: another option is that you could make an offer that she pays $_____ for you to move out early.
 
M

Mapper

Member
Yes asking her for a payment WOULD be an option. If we could get our full security deposit back AND a full month's rent then we might consider it. However, she wants us to move out in May but preferably not before April because she can't afford both the mortgage on the house AND her current rent payments so there's no way she's going to pay us to move out. Heck she made us pay $100 for a storm door installation on a door we didn't break (the wind tore it open because it never latched!) AND it took her 6 months to get it repaired after us asking her 3 times. So she hasn't done us any favors, why should we do her one?!
 
F

FarmerJ

Senior Member
Is it time to change your phone number ? Id bet so , this way she can call your husband. In the time being as you had been told b4 store documents such as a extra copy of the lease away from the residence.
 
M

Mapper

Member
So yesterday (6 days after she sent us the text I describe in my original post) the owner sends us another text. This one is saying that there is a house for rent near her the place she's currently renting. She said it's really nice and the floors and kitchen were just redone and there's a largish garage and shop out back. It's $1200/month which is $100 more than what we are paying now. In addition, her friend who was the realtor we dealt with when leasing the current place we are in is the agent with this one as well and says that since she already did a credit check on us before getting into this house 3 years ago that no credit check would be necessary. Because she REALLY wants us out of here by May so she seems to be trying to find us a place.

Well hubby and I went to check it out and although it may be okay on the inside, the outside is a total wreck! Well, not a TOTAL wreck but nothing I'd ever want to admit to being part of. We pull up to the house and it's a light green color but then there are just random swaths of white paint made with a large brush. Maybe 5-10 swaths on each side of the house put wherever like someone was going to paint it white but then stopped after a brush stroke and started somewhere else and then stopped again after a brush stroke. There is a teeny yard and the "yard" in back is basically mud/dirt with a couple patches of grass. One of the windows is out in the shop and has just Saran Wrap and duct tape covering one pane. The garage is still full of crap even though nobody lives there. The neighboring houses on each side are about 10 feet away from the house so absolutely no privacy. Plus the house has one less bedroom than we have now. So less room, crappy yard and $100 more a month. No thank you.

My husband calls her up and tells her we looked at it and that it isn't something we want. Explains to her that it's $100 more and has less room than what we have now. She goes "Well it's really hard to find rental houses around here right now" meaning she really wants us to take it so she can move back in here ASAP. We told her we will keep looking and may not even want to stay in the town we are in. She seemed to keep pushing my husband and he finally said "Look, my child support payment just got upped $200 a month and we can't afford to pay a lick more than what we are paying now. We'd like to pay even less so no this house you are pushing on us will not work."

This is getting very exasperating with her. I wouldn't call it harrassment, but it is very annoying. Are we going to get a text from her once or twice a week now saying she wants us to look at such and such a house or asking us if we've found anything? We did seriously think of moving for her if this place was decent, but it wasn't. Plus if we do move out early we are going to ask her for a full refund of the security deposit and a full month's rent paid. If she won't bargain with it then we don't move early. We are not going to move into a crappy house because she just "really wants her house back". She should have put a clause into the lease agreement that if her job didn't work out then she could move back into her house if she gave us a 2 month notice or something like that, but she didn't. She even insisted that we go and get the signed lease notarized. She should assume if we don't contact her about moving out then we are not moving out early and stop texting us about it.
 
H

HomeGuru

Senior Member
Send the lady landlord a crrr letter stating that you have decided to stay for the duration of your fixed lease. Can't tell if you actually signed the 3 year lease although we know that you signed a 1 year lease.
 
M

Mapper

Member
Yes we signed a 1 year lease when we moved in in Jan. 2010. In October of that year is when she approached us about signing one for a 3 year term which we did. We got it notarized and everything.
 
Zigner

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Mapper said:
Yes we signed a 1 year lease when we moved in in Jan. 2010. In October of that year is when she approached us about signing one for a 3 year term which we did. We got it notarized and everything.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like you have every right to stay there until October of this year. She can't force you out.
 
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