Alleged breaking of lease contract

I have been served. My previous landlord is suing me for 3 months rent (dec./jan./feb.) saying i broke my lease by moving out prior to it ending. Also they are stating that i kept the keys and am still using the utilities at the household, which is not true.

I had a previous lease with this landlord. Upon the end of the lease in Aug. I told her that i would be staying and that i would let her know when i would be moving. i told her she could renew the lease for 6 months. She never sent out a new lease for me to sign. No documentation of such contract was ever sent to me as was before in the previous lease. Therefore my signature isnt on anything stating we were in a binding contract.
--Issue 1. Is this a binding contract?--

I called my landlord in Nov. and told her that I would be moving out in Dec. She gave me hell about it of course but agreed to let me out of the lease agreement(if it can even be called such). She said that i needed to write her a letter stating my intention of leaving for her to forgive me of the last two months. I told her I would be out by Dec. 14th. I did do such. She requested my contact info. saying that she would be sure to give me my security deposit back minus any household damages.
--Issue 2. If it is considered a contract, does this count as her forgiving me of the last two months?--

I have not received my security deposit back and have not been told of any charges for any damages in the house.
--Issue 3. Can she hold my security deposit?--

In as much as this allegation of still using utilities, no such thing is correct. I haven't returned to the house since the day i moved. i didnt leave the keys when i left. Now the original lease signed between us also includes my boyfriend at the time. We moved in together. When he kept his keys and no locks were changed. When my lease was up he wasnt included in any conversations that i had with the landlady. if anybody was still remaining at the house or using any utilities after i moved it would have been him.--Issue 4. What can i do about this in as far as my situation?--

Another issue the actual papers served to me are not from the actual landlady. It actually states that a family member of the landlady is bringing the charges. --Issue 5. If she has no actual claim to the property or anything to do with this agreement is that ok?--

So based on this info. if anyone can tell me where i stand on these points.

[OHlandlord]

1) If there was an automatic renewal clause in your lease and you continued to pay rent after the first lease expired, it would have been considered a renewal. If there was no such clause and you signed nothing more, it will be hard for her to prove you had authorized renewal (any witnesses?). You would be considered a month to month tenant and could leave with a written notice of appropriate length for your state. What state?

2) Without a written notice from the LL saying you are no longer obligated under the contract, you are not excused from any obligation you may have under it. Always get it in writing if a LL says they will release you from a lease. You cannot prove in court that she verbally agreed to this probably.

3) Your security deposit should be accounted for within a stated time limit (which varies per state) after you vacate the unit . (Again, what state?) If you had a lease, deductions can be made for unpaid rent until the unit is re-rented, utilities if you were responsible for them as per your lease, advertising, agent fees if they use one to find a new tenant, and any money that the LL has to pay because of your failure to honor your lease for which they are not reimbursed, as well as actual damages to the unit. This may explain the utility costs she is claiming. Still, you should receive a statement of what was deducted from the deposit within the state time limit, even if the entire deposit was used up for fees. If you failed to return the keys, you will owe rent until the LL was able to legally change the locks. You are supposed to return your keys upon leaving. The time limit to return does not start until she regains possession. If you failed to leave keys, possession wouldn't start until she was legally able to change the locks.


4) If you moved out and your BF did not, the unit was not vacant and the deposit is not due back until it is completely vacant. Since you both were on the lease, you are probably listed as being jointly and severally liable. This means you are both responsible for any money that is owed and she can pursue either of you for it. You should have made sure that both of you moved out when you gave notice. She doesn't have to return the deposit until everyone moves out of the unit.

5) The LL may just be an agent for the owner. As such, she can manage the property, post notices, collect rents, etc. But she may not be able to do the actual eviction. The property owner may be required to do that. (That's the way it is in my state.) A PM could manage the day to day problems with the property, but cannot do the eviction. This may be why you received the actual court notice from the owner. Or it may be that the two of them are co-owners, in which case either one could bring the charges. It is still valid as long as the person named is an owner.

Very helpful!! I have some similar issues.

Ok. This was very helpful. I am in the state of Georgia.

1. The name of the person bringing up the charges is in fact the actual owner/landlord's cousin who lives a few doors down from the property. The cousin has no LEGAL claim to act as a property manager. The landlord's name isn't anywhere on the claim. Also, to my knowledge this cousin is not a co-owner to this property.

2. About the ex boyfriend. As I said he was on the original lease. Upon the end of my lease contract, he was gone and no other discussion of him in reference to the property was made, although the landlord was aware that he moved out. So if the extension is legally binding, he was not included in such. To this day he probably still has the keys. If you say because he was on the original lease he may be liable, how can I avoid this being put on me? Was she supposed to change the locks when he moved out? Is it still on me even if he has keys?

3. I have to go back and look at the lease to see if there is a clause about continuing the lease or not. Will get back to you all with that info.
Thanks, for your advice so far.

[OHlandlord]

Call the clerk of court and ask for all the owners' names for the property. If the cousin is listed as an owner, even a partial owner, he is permitted to act as the owner. Also, if the cousin has a power of atorney or a PM agreement with the owner, he can pursue you for monies owed. Be sure to ask for this when the court date comes.

If there was an automatic lease renewal clause, AND the BF was on the original lease, AND if the LL and the BF never did any paperwork to take him off the lease, he CAN still be liable for any monies owed too. He can still be considered on the extension because he never did anything to take himself off the lease. Even if he moved out, he needs to make sure he is off the lease. Normally when 2 parties are on the same lease, the are both equally and severaly liable. She can pursue either of you for anything owed under a lease. It is the LL's choice who to pursue (the one who is easier to colect from or easier to contact is usually who is sued). He should have returned his keys and had himself removed from the lease when he moved out. If he is still in possession of the keys, he can still come back into that unit. Many leases say that if all the keys are not returned, you can be charged a re-keying fee or a lock changing fee.

So you need to look for an automatic renewal clause. There is usually a line that says something about if you stay, holdover, or continue to pay rent after the lease's expiration it will be construed as an lease renewal of the same term or it will be construed as a month to month agreement (or other words to that effect). Find this. Then find out if the ex-BF ever removed himself from the lease (he would have had to sign a paper to do this).

Finally, lease or not, the deposit statement should be mailed to you within one month after you move out and return the keys to the unit. This statement should say what exactly your deposit was kept for or what was subtracted from your deposit. If you don't receive it within a few days after the month expires, you can send a demand letter to the LL to get it back. If you have not received the letter back before you go to court, make sure to countersue for it and the penalty (if any) for not returning this to you within the state time limits.

There is no automatic lease renewal stated in the contract. The lease says when it expires it then begins a month to month agreement. I am supposed to give 60 days notice to move out.

A few other things.

1. The LL cousin continues to bother me about this thing. She somehow has gotten hold of my class schedule at school as this was the address the subpoena was sent to, and the county marshall served me while i was in a class. Also, recently she has had someone to call me on three-way (not on her line) and she proceeded to ask me for the garage door opener and more accusations of coming back and forth into the property. She concluded by threatening to come to my class to get the garage door opener. So somehow she has my full class schedule. That isnt public info. She would have had to get that from some personnel at my university. Can't I file some type of harrassment charge or something?

2. Also, the lease states utilities that I was responsible for and changing my name over to. Only electric and cable tv was checked off. The option for water was not. A few months after i had moved in the LL called upset that i hadnt changed the water bill over in to my name and paid it. I subsequently did so. Upon moving out, I changed it out of my name. I even left it with a small credit balance. I recently have received a bill from them for FEB-mar.. This means she recently put it back into my name because I haven't received a bill since I paid it off in DeC. Am I able to countersue for the water bills i have paid the whole time because it did not state that i was responsible for such utilities in the lease?

[OHlandlord]

OK. Your lease went to a month to month after it expired. But it continues on under the same terms, so you still needed to gie 60 days notice to vacate since it was required by your original lease. *When did you submit this notice to her in writing?* You also need to check to see if your state is a term state (where notice must be given at the begining of a month) or a day for day state (where notice can be given at any time). If your state is a term state and you didn't give written notice until, let's say Dec. 2, that notice wouldn't take effect until Jan. 1st. It would be 60 days notice through Jan & Feb that you would owe rent for. Check to see what type of state Georgia is. You may have to read through your state statute and see how it words the section on when notices must be given.

I wouldn't know how she got your schedule unless it is listed online somewhere. If the marshall could not reach you at your home (forwarding) address, he can serve you at work or school. The marshall would have the right to your schedule so he could lawfully serve you there. Harassment is hard to prove to a judge. If she believes you owe her money, she has the right to try and contact you to get that money. The line she crosses between her right to pursue you for the money and where harassment is, can only be determined by a judge. I suggest you tell her not to call you again, that the matter will be settled in the court case. Make sure you show up for the case. Perhaps she was just bluffing in stating she would come to your class?

As I said previously, if you were responsible for the utilities (and your prior payment for the water bill could be used to show you WERE responsible for it), you may be held to be responsible for them for the 60 day notice of intent to vacate. You would be responsible for the rent during that time, and some states also hold that you are responsible for the other obligations of the lease for that period (including utility payments). You voluntarily turned the water over to your name. You could have refused to do so since it wasn't listed in your lease. Since you did it yourself, I doubt you could sue to get this money back. You should have just refused.

When you left did you turn off all the utilities out of your name? Is the utility bill several months behind like some of these utility companies do around here? For example, if a tenant here got a water bill today, it would be for Jan & Feb. It would not cover March since their billing is so far behind. If the same tenant left today 4/1, the water bill here wouldn't be read for several more days, it would take another 10 days to be put in the computer, and the bill wouldn't arrive for about 30 days after they moved out. That bill would cover all of March & April up to the date they read the meter. Call the utility company and ask when they removed your name from the bill and when they read the final reading on the meter. They could have failed to give you the final reading bill from that account. Call and ask.