Need legal advice.....please

[ceroarty]

I am living out of state. Next weekend, sept 7th, I was set to move to clermont. We decided to rent a place ad found one we loved. Two weeks ago we signed a lease agreement and they cashed our checks. They told us today they decided to not rent it. They will move in instead, as they are from out of state too. We are now homeless. We close on our house sept 6 th and the truck will be coming next Thursday. My question is.... Can we sue them? They are offering no compensation and we are really in a bind. Thanks for any input.

 

[wiigirl]

Did they refund your money? Did you sign a lease?

 

[Q-man]

Can you? yes. Is going to be worth the time or money or get you in by your move date? no.

 

[ceroarty]

Yes, we have a signed lease and they cashed our checks. The thing is we now need a place to live. We are set to live in next weekend.

 

[allison443]

What does the signed agreement say? Is there anything in there about the landlord failing to make the apartment available on such and such date?
Does it state that return of your deposit satisfies his obligation?
Has the landlord given your money back?

 

[RitaE]

At this point your time would be better spent finding a place to stay and perhaps store your possessions because it is really doubtful that you are going to be able to force them to let you move into the house.

You can always file in small claims court for damages once you are settled.

I hope they at least returned your deposits?????

 

[HM]

Shady move on their part. I'm betting they used your deposits to help them move to the house themselves. They are probably betting you won't sue them.

I'm not usually this negative about these type of things, but that's the first impression I got reading your post.

OP, I hope I'm wrong and they return your money and you can find another place quickly.

 

[Tinkerdreams]

Shady move on their part. I'm betting they used your deposits to help them move to the house themselves. They are probably betting you won't sue them.

I'm not usually this negative about these type of things, but that's the first impression I got reading your post.

OP, I hope I'm wrong and they return your money and you can find another place quickly.

I agree, very shady. I would get a hold of these people and demand your money back within the week. If there is ANY delay, then I would begin the process of taking them to small claims court.

 

[pryncess527]

At this point your time would be better spent finding a place to stay and perhaps store your possessions because it is really doubtful that you are going to be able to force them to let you move into the house.

You can always file in small claims court for damages once you are settled.

I hope they at least returned your deposits?????

Ditto.

 

[danygirl]

Call the landlord tenant affairs office in that county and ask them what options you have. They might also have leads on other places. Bottom line is you are not moving in

 

[jedijill]

This screams scam to me. Sounds like someone rented you a place that doesn't belong to them. Did you verify that they actual own the property? If not, then I would be calling the police.

Jill in CO

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

OK. If they have your money you need a REAL attorney. Advice on here is not going to get you what you need. And you don't want to give them a week. You should have had your funds at the same time they changed their plans. If you don't have funds or a FedEx tracking number for the check find an attorney NOW

If they don't have your money you can see about a suit, but it's not going to get you in that place next week.

 

[NYCDiane]

This screams scam to me. Sounds like someone rented you a place that doesn't belong to them. Did you verify that they actual own the property? If not, then I would be calling the police.

Jill in CO

^^^^^ This!

Did you ever meet these people in person??

The best thing in your favor is that you gave them a check versus Western Union or a Money Order. Did they deposit it in their account? Or did they go to a branch of your bank to cash it?

You signed a lease with them. That is a legal document. I would demand my money back in full RIGHT NOW. If they hem/haw (and they will), I would immediately start proceedings. Don't let them pay you back piecemeal. Demand PAYMENT IN FULL IMMEDIATELY.

I don't know how much you gave them or what the limits are in small claims court versus supreme court in their area but you have to find out! Also, find a TENANT attorney in that area and see if they can guide you.

 

[Shagley]

This screams scam to me. Sounds like someone rented you a place that doesn't belong to them. Did you verify that they actual own the property? If not, then I would be calling the police.

Jill in CO

Yes! This scam has been happening in my area quite a bit. I would check with the police department in that area and tell them you suspect you may be the victim of a scam. They can check to see if that house was even ever really for rent.

 

[tvguy]

Yes, we have a signed lease and they cashed our checks. The thing is we now need a place to live. We are set to live in next weekend.

If they haven't returned your money, sure you can sue. If they have returned the money, technically they have made you whole, so you have no legal grounds for a suit. While it is annoying, it isn't illegal.

 

[ceecee]

Not enough facts...1)did you get your $ back? 2)what did the lease say regarding the landlord breaking the rental agreement?

 

[wnissen]

If they haven't returned your money, sure you can sue. If they have returned the money, technically they have made you whole, so you have no legal grounds for a suit. While it is annoying, it isn't illegal.

This is why legal "advice" on the Internet is so problematic. It's true, it's not illegal under most circumstances to screw someone in a business deal (which is what renting is). However, you can still sue someone for damages caused by an action that is legal. For instance, if the OP has to stay in a hotel and pay for storage, that might be something you could recover in court. Or, in some cases you can sue for "specific performance," which is a fancy way of saying that the court forces the defendant to do what they said they were going to do. Not a good idea, in my humble, personal opinion, to pursue that in this case because it's rarely wise to have a landlord that hates you and is only renting to you because of a court order.

"Made whole" is not just getting back your deposit. It also takes into account the fact that you have "relied" on the other party fulfilling their end of the bargain. The thing is, hiring a lawyer to sue is really expensive. The OP can probably rent a storage unit for a month, stay in a hotel for a few weeks, and find a new place. That's only a few thousand dollars at most. And then even if you win you have to collect, which isn't easy or necessarily possible depending on the resources of the person you're trying to collect from.

I'm not a lawyer, and nothing I say is legal advice, but I would, if it were me, get a firm quote from a storage facility and hotel in the area for a month's storage. Send a registered letter to the landlord and let them know you will accept a cashier's check for that amount in lieu of moving in according to the contract. There are tricky legal issues in threatening to sue without actually doing so.

 

[Ali]

If you wrote a check why can't you go to your bank and cancel the check? They will reverse the money paid.

 

[NYCDiane]

If they haven't returned your money, sure you can sue. If they have returned the money, technically they have made you whole, so you have no legal grounds for a suit. While it is annoying, it isn't illegal.

There is something called "BREACH OF CONTRACT" and a lease is a legal contract.

If the OP really wanted to give it to these people, she could sue them for every dime she has to lay out for hotels, storage, etc and, if she finds a new rental where the price is higher than the one she signed the lease for, she can sue him for the difference for the length of time the lease was for.

I think the OP needs to contact a TENANT attorney or a Consumer Rights attorney. I would sue the daylights out of these people just to teach them a lesson.

As for her payment to them.... I agree with a previous poster. She should go to her bank and see if they can cancel the check and reverse the payment.

 

[tvguy]

This is why legal "advice" on the Internet is so problematic. It's true, it's not illegal under most circumstances to screw someone in a business deal (which is what renting is). However, you can still sue someone for damages caused by an action that is legal. For instance, if the OP has to stay in a hotel and pay for storage, that might be something you could recover in court. Or, in some cases you can sue for "specific performance," which is a fancy way of saying that the court forces the defendant to do what they said they were going to do. Not a good idea, in my humble, personal opinion, to pursue that in this case because it's rarely wise to have a landlord that hates you and is only renting to you because of a court order.

"Made whole" is not just getting back your deposit. It also takes into account the fact that you have "relied" on the other party fulfilling their end of the bargain. The thing is, hiring a lawyer to sue is really expensive. The OP can probably rent a storage unit for a month, stay in a hotel for a few weeks, and find a new place. That's only a few thousand dollars at most. And then even if you win you have to collect, which isn't easy or necessarily possible depending on the resources of the person you're trying to collect from.

I'm not a lawyer, and nothing I say is legal advice, but I would, if it were me, get a firm quote from a storage facility and hotel in the area for a month's storage. Send a registered letter to the landlord and let them know you will accept a cashier's check for that amount in lieu of moving in according to the contract. There are tricky legal issues in threatening to sue without actually doing so.

I second the legal advice on the internet as being problematic.
Rental agreements generally have an effective date, normally the move in date. If the money was refunded before that date, one party legally voided the contract.