Tenant Completely Baffled By Landord

Hi there. I would appreciate any advice offered.

My family and I moved in to a rental house June, 2008. We signed a lease that specifically states that it is for a period of 12 months.

Yesterday, August 30, my landlord taped a letter to my front door serving as "formal 30 (thirty) day notice to vacate the property". Of course I immediately called the landlord for an explanation. She informed me that she is in the middle of a bitter divorce, needs to sell the house ASAP, that the house will not sell at full market value ($290,000) with renters who are paying $1350 a month for the next 9 months, that she is 'materially breaching' the contract, and that we indeed have 30 days to get out. She kept stressing the '30 days notice' part as if that was a key element to carrying out her plan to remove us from her property.

We have paid the rent in full and on time. I have a near-perfect credit score and rating. We have kept the house in great condition, and I have put a lot of hard work into restoring the yard and fixing broken hardware around the house. The neighbors have expressed much gratitude for my efforts, because they felt that the house looked so bad that it was bringing down the values of their own homes. We have not broken the terms of our lease in any way that I can imagine, nor has she informed us of any potential violations.

I reviewed the lease as carefully as possible. Although I consider myself to be an educated man, I have no formal legal training. The lease focuses mainly on tenant's rights. If XXX happens and the landlord does not fix it, the tenant can give 30 days notice to vacate etc. Nowhere in the lease is the landlord granted the right to terminate the lease with 30 days notice.

I responded with the following letter:

"
I received your letter dated August 30, 2008. I have carefully reviewed our lease agreement and come to the conclusion that my family is under no legal obligation to vacate the premises.

Paragraph 36, “AMENDMENTS”, states “The lease may be amended only by a writing signed by the parties, or by a change in the Landlord’s rules and regulations, provided that reasonable notice of such change is given to Tenant and provided that such changes do not substantially modify the Tenant’s arrangement with Landlord.” Terminating the lease would certainly constitute a substantial modification of our lease agreement.

As to your stated intent to show the property to potential buyers, I would direct your attention to Paragraph 11, “INSPECTIONS AND ACCESS”. Paragraph 11 affords you and your agents the general right to place “For Sale” signs on the property as well as to access the house in order to show the house to prospective buyers. This is a general right afforded to you by our lease agreement; however, Paragraph 37, “DISPLAY OF SIGNS” provides more specific language regarding your right to place the signs and show the house to buyers. Paragraph 37 states “Landlord or Landlord’s agent may display “For Sale” or “For Rent” or “Vacancy” or similar signs on or about the Premises and enter to show the Premises to prospective tenants during the last sixty (60) days of this lease.”

It is my strong recommendation that you seek legal counsel. During our telephone conversation on August 30, 2008 which you referenced in your August 30 letter, you specifically stated that you are committing a material breach of our lease agreement. I do not think you fully understand the potential legal ramifications you would face as a result of such an action.

We are sensitive to your unfortunate circumstances, but my family cannot reasonably be expected to bear substantial inconvenience and financial burden simply because you have changed your plans for the property not even three full months into the lease.

I have enclosed a copy of our lease agreement with the referenced portions highlighted."

When I brought the letter to the landlord, she read it and smugly stated that I needed to have my things packed and gone before 30 days has expired. She said "I'm not making any threats, but you better start packing now."

So anyway, tell me what you think.

I forgot to mention the rental is in Virginia.

In some cases, 60 days written notice is required by law before asking you to vacate a premises, though after a quick search I did not find anything too specific about your state coming form the LL's side.. only about the tenants side. However I did find a place you can call to get information and possibly even settle on a resolution.

Virginia Office of Consumer Affairs
Answer general questions concerning the Virginia Landlord and Tenant Act.
Outside Richmond: (800) 552-9963
In Richmond: (804) 786-2042
Website: Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - Local Offices of Consumer Affairs

You are in the right here. I'm sorry she is going through a bitter divorce, but she signed a legal contract with you. You have the right to stay in the house until that lease ends as long as you continue to uphold your end of the contract. She cannot simply terminate the contract for no cause. (Her problems are NOT just cause.) If she wishes to terminate the contract early, she can offer to do so by compensating you for the inconvenience with money, paying for a moving van, or some other form of compensation. You are free to accept or deny this.

She cannot give you a 30 day notice since you have a one year term lease which has not expired. She cannot receive an eviction through the courts because you have not breeched your lease. If she wants to materially breech the lease, she is then able to be sued for her breech. You can sue her for the compensation of having to mve again, the costs of the move, and maybe even any difference you have to pay in rent for the rest of your lease term. Is she prepared to pay for that? If she continues on in this term, seek the aide of a real estate attorney to write her a letter to this effect.

In the meantime, hang onto that letter in which she states that she is materially breeching your lease. Those words in her own hand, may be her undoing in court when it comes time for a lawsuit against her.

If she lists the house with a realtor, require the 24 hour notice to enter to show the property as required under VA Code 55-248.18 but cooperate with the showings. If someone buys the house, they will have to honor your lease until it ends. Plan on the lease being not renewed at its termination and expect to move then.

Great advice!

Thanks to the posters!!!

This situation has taken another turn for the bizarre. The landlord has begun calling my command (I am a military officer) demanding to speak to my commanding officer. Apparently she thinks he will order me to give her the house back. She did not actually speak to my CO (he wouldn't take the call), but instead spoke to another officer for an hour and a half alleging that I had threatened her with litigation and to become a squatter in her home. Both allegations are, of course, ridiculously false.

I googled her name and discovered that this is her third 'bitter' divorce in ten years. The court documents about her divorces all note discrepancies between her versions of events and those presented by witnesses and her former husbands. According to the most recent court documents, of the two houses she she co-owns, her share of the equity in both amounts to a little over $1100. It's no wonder she's so desperate to get us out and sell it. You have to wonder why she even leased the place to us. Prior court documents note at least 2 'bad faith' negotiations with former husbands. I wonder if she knew all along that she was going to try and boot us after a few months of rent payments.

Anyway, I retained a lawyer who gave me and my wife some outstanding advice. We will probably be moving out around January assuming we can get her to cover the cost of the move and all the miscellaneous costs like early-termination fees from various utilities.

Glad it seems to be working out for you. Make sure you get all agreements with her signed and in writing, vet them by your attorney, have her pay the termination fees, moving costs, etc. before you move out or at least before you return the keys. Hope you can find a good place to move to.

[agentyumi]

Your landholder cannot terminate your contract whenever she wanted because you have a written agreement. Find a reputable lawyer who can help you on this case.

agentyumi,
The tenant has retained an attorney for this purpose and is currently in negotiation to buy them out of their lease by the LL agreeing to pay for moving costs, utility termination fees, etc. Let's see what the attorney can negotiate as a buy-out for the tenant in this case.

Chris, Please update us when this is over.

We went to hand deliver the official letter from our lawyer today and the landlord's other house was mysteriously vacant with a 'for auction' sign posted on the front lawn.