Landlord broken promises and lease question

Hi, I have a couple quick questions I need help with. First off, I live in the state of Oregon and I have been leasing a place for for about 4 years now. Last year we started to have a problem with our roof leaking a little bit and moisture causing some mold issues in the attic/storage area. Anyway, the landlord could not find the problem, but replaced a few shingles and said the roof was 20 years old and needs to be replaced so, he would put a new roof up in the summertime. He also said he would repaint the house, which really needs it and do some other cosmetic work. Well, he delayed all summer and of course never did any of the work. He said it would have to wait until next summer. So, we decided that we would not be renewing the lease then and by our mistake we did not re-read the original lease that states if 60 days notice is not given to terminate the lease before it ends that it will autmatically renew for another year. Yes I know we should have re-read that part, we were under the impression that it went to another month to month lease, not another year long lease. Anyway only 30 days before the lease was to expire they notified us of a rent increase. Now I don't know how they get away with that, if they require 60 days notice to terminate a lease but only notify of a rent increase after it is too late to terminate. So we never signed the new lease and told them we would not be renewing for another year. They then told us that it was too late to terminate the lease and it has already been renewed. So my question is if they said they would do these repairs such as putting on a new roof and never did, is that grounds for us to say they are violating their areement and lease. The roof does not have gaping holes or anything and I am not an expert, but I am sure if the roof was to be inspected by a roof inspector they would say it needs to be replaced. In fact the landlord themself told me that last year and one of the handymen he uses said the same thing.

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by Unregistered Hi, I have a couple quick questions I need help with. First off, I live in the state of Oregon and I have been leasing a place for for about 4 years now. Last year we started to have a problem with our roof leaking a little bit and moisture causing some mold issues in the attic/storage area. Anyway, the landlord could not find the problem, but replaced a few shingles and said the roof was 20 years old and needs to be replaced so, he would put a new roof up in the summertime. He also said he would repaint the house, which really needs it and do some other cosmetic work. Well, he delayed all summer and of course never did any of the work. He said it would have to wait until next summer. So, we decided that we would not be renewing the lease then and by our mistake we did not re-read the original lease that states if 60 days notice is not given to terminate the lease before it ends that it will autmatically renew for another year. Yes I know we should have re-read that part, we were under the impression that it went to another month to month lease, not another year long lease. Anyway only 30 days before the lease was to expire they notified us of a rent increase. Now I don't know how they get away with that, if they require 60 days notice to terminate a lease but only notify of a rent increase after it is too late to terminate. So we never signed the new lease and told them we would not be renewing for another year. They then told us that it was too late to terminate the lease and it has already been renewed. So my question is if they said they would do these repairs such as putting on a new roof and never did, is that grounds for us to say they are violating their areement and lease. The roof does not have gaping holes or anything and I am not an expert, but I am sure if the roof was to be inspected by a roof inspector they would say it needs to be replaced. In fact the landlord themself told me that last year and one of the handymen he uses said the same thing.

Unfortunately, "if it ain't in writing, it never happened". That means that because the LL never put any of his promises down in writing, there's no way to enforce them. And because the majority of the issues are cosmetic and not habitability concerns, there is no basis for breaking the lease w/o penalty.

The LL is well within his rights to hold you to the 60 day notice requirement to terminate your lease at the end of the term. You are right, you should not have assumed that the lease converted to a month-to-month tenancy at its term end. That assumption is going to cost you.

The LL giving you a rent increase before the new lease term is a good question. How were you notified of the increase? Were you given a specific notice of increase 30 days in advance, or did he present a new lease to sign that indicated the rent increase prior to the expiration of the current lease? Lastly, what does the current lease say about the auto-renewal - does it specifically mention that it allows for an increase for the new term?

The good thing about having a written lease is that it keeps your lease terms consistent, and prevents the LL from making unilateral changes. Unless that lease specifically allows for a rent increase to go along with that auto-renewal, I don't think the LL can enforce it - even if he gave you that notice. That is probably why he presented a new lease for you to sign - and of course, it will include that increase. If you sign it, you're agreeing to it.

If it were me, I'd have the lease reviewed by an attorney to see how they interpret this. I personally don't think the increase is enforceable, unless of course the lease that auto-renewed addressed this, because in such cases, the original lease terms would remain in force unless & until you either vacated or signed a new lease.

The lease doesn't specifically say how much they can increase the rent or when they have to notify us. It just states that the landlord may increase the rent, that is it. They sent the new lease for us to sign along with the notice of rent increase via mail, which is dated. It was actually sent to us less than 30 days before the lease expired. I think it was about 20 days before before the lease was up. So we had no way of knowing there would be a rent increase in the required 60 days time to terminate the lease. And we haven't had to sign a new lease for them in a couple years, so we had not read the old lease for a couple years. We don't have it in writing saying they would replace the roof, but the landlord did contact a contractor about doing the job in a specific amount of time and had him evaluate the roof. The landlord lives out of state and only comes by like once a year. Another issue is the mold. Since we are headed into winter and it rains all the time here, I honestly don't think this roof will hold up without leaking again and causing more mold damage. There is currently still some mold on the underside of the roof in the atttic. Is the landlord required to clean that mold up and possibly test it to see if it is black mold, or is that something we should do. I also read that if we wanted to we can have the city come and evaluate the roof and see if it up to code or not. I don't know if I should follow through with that or not. But I am truly worried that we will have more leaking and damge this winter. Oh and another issue is the appliances in the house. They are old and outdated and not functioning properly. In the lease it states the appliances are as is, but if they are not working properly and they were when we moved in, is the Landlord required to fix them. I am wondering how I should address these issues with the landlord. I just feel that the landlord has pulled a fast one on us and had no intention of doing anything about the roof or anything else and they just said that to keep us here. We actually had planned on staying here for another year anyway, had the landlord redone the roof and other work like he said.

[sandyclaus]

A few questions:

Your post says that you hadn't had to sign a new lease for a couple of years. So it had auto-renewed with the same terms the year before? When did the original lease term expire?

Had you told your LL that you weren't renewing the lease before he notified you of the rent increase?

Can you tell me EXACTLY what that rent increase clause says? I need to know to follow up some research on your question.

[sandyclaus]

While I continue to research the rent increases...

Originally Posted by Unregistered We don't have it in writing saying they would replace the roof, but the landlord did contact a contractor about doing the job in a specific amount of time and had him evaluate the roof. The landlord lives out of state and only comes by like once a year. Another issue is the mold. Since we are headed into winter and it rains all the time here, I honestly don't think this roof will hold up without leaking again and causing more mold damage. There is currently still some mold on the underside of the roof in the atttic. Is the landlord required to clean that mold up and possibly test it to see if it is black mold, or is that something we should do. I also read that if we wanted to we can have the city come and evaluate the roof and see if it up to code or not. I don't know if I should follow through with that or not. But I am truly worried that we will have more leaking and damge this winter. Oh and another issue is the appliances in the house. They are old and outdated and not functioning properly. In the lease it states the appliances are as is, but if they are not working properly and they were when we moved in, is the Landlord required to fix them. I am wondering how I should address these issues with the landlord. I just feel that the landlord has pulled a fast one on us and had no intention of doing anything about the roof or anything else and they just said that to keep us here. We actually had planned on staying here for another year anyway, had the landlord redone the roof and other work like he said.

Regarding these repair issues, the roof may be or become a habitability issue. You can call in city/county building inspectors to inspect the problem. If they deem it to be serious enough to constitute a health and/or safety issue, they will issue a citation and/or fine the LL, forcing him to make these repairs and potentially providing you a way to break the lease if he fails to do so.

The appliances, however, old & outdated as they are, do not constitute a habitability issue and would not be sufficient reason to break the lease w/o penalty. That being said, does the lease specify who is to maintain and/or repair thm? If nothing is specified, these would be considered the responsibility of the LL for repair and/or maintenance because he provided them with the rental. If the appliances are functioning in a way that is a safety hazard, then write a letter to the LL demanding that they be repaired or replaced because of their potential danger to you, your household & property, and their rental property. If they just don't work as well as you think they should, then unfortunately you'll have to live with them - or replace them with your own appliances. After all, they are older and probably not as efficient as a result.

[sandyclaus]

You say that your lease has an auto-renewal clause, and a clause that states that either party may choose to terminate rather than renew at the end of the current term with at least 60 days notice of their intent to do so. As a rule, the auto-renewal lease terms and conditions remain exactly the same as the prior term unless otherwise specified. An exception is made if the lease specifically identifies that certain changes, such as a rent increase, will take effect at the end of the lease term upon auto-renewal.

When considering whether or not to renew, you need to have all the facts, and you are entitled to have them in time to make an informed decision whether or not to renew. The LL needed to notify you early on that he intended to impose a rent increase while you still had time to make that decision. At the 60 day mark, you hadn't yet made up your mind, but since neither you or the LL decided to invoke your contractual right to terminate, the auto-renewal was invoked - at the same terms as the prior term. You no longer had a choice, it was made for you. The LL cannot now change those terms by giving you a rent increase 30 days before the new term starts and take away your right to accept or reject the new terms for renewal.

Check with an attorney to advise on the best way to proceed from here. They may advise that you can break your lease or they may be able to negotiate terms with the LL that you both can agree to should you decide to remain a tenant for the remaining term.

The lease simply states the landlord reserves the right to increase the rent...that's it. The rent increase notice we received was well after the required 60 days notice we are required to give them. The auto renewal states if the lease is not renewed and notice is not given the tenant may stay and the lease will be renewed with the original terms upon landlords approval.

It would seem then, that your lease renewed at the original terms since you were not notified prior to its renewal of new terms. You have a new 12 month lease under the same terms as last year.

CA law states that if this and all other rent increases during the prior 12 months are more than 10% of the lowest rent charged during that time, you must be given 60 days notice. If less than 10% increase, you need to be given 30 days notice. Since the LL failed to give notice at least 30 days prior to the lease renewal (assuming the rent increase is less than 10%), he is unable to raise your rent for the lease period. Xerox the front of the envelope that the rent increase came in. Highlight the postal date. Send that copy along with a copy of this law, CA Civil Code 1946 and CA Civil Code 827a, to the LL and state that he cannot raise your rent as he failed to give you the proper notice prior to lease renewal. State that per your lease, the lease renewed automatically under the same terms pending LL approval. However, if he wants to allow you out of your lease under the "LL approval" clause so that he can raise the rent for the next tenant, you will be happy to oblige. Do not sign the new lease copy with that rent increase.

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by Unregistered CA law states that ...

You should check the original post. The OP lives in Oregon, NOT California.

Please verify jurisdiction before giving responses that may not be applicable (which yours does not).

My apologies. I must have confused the states of two different posters. OR law has no statute on the amount f notice required to change rent or other terms.