paying my landlord (renting a home in California)

[binzbrat]

I have been renting a home in CA. for three years. December of 08 my landlord came to me and told me that she could no longer afford the home and it was going into foreclosure. I take care of my mother who is one a life support device and also have my son who is in school living with me. My LL told me not to worry she felt bad and to stay in the home for as long as I needed or until they ( the bank) offered me cash for keys. I am not under a lease nor have been, for the last 2 and a half years. Having been told about her foreclosure, I started looking for a home to buy for my Mother and I. The LL is a realtor and helped me find a home to buy, I found one and opened escrow in Feb. of 09. The home was a short sale and had state as well as federal tax leans on the home so she told me it could take quite a while for the sale to go through. Four months after she told me to stay, she came to me and asked how long this was going to take and told me to start paying her again! I agreed to pay the amount she asked for which was less then before, but never missed a payment (except for Jan of 2010) because the home was going to close! A new lease was never signed nor was anything put in writing. I gave her a cashiers check every month.She told me this summer she was trying to work out payments with the bank and said she maybe able to keep the home after all. This was untrue, I found out that as of September of 09 she was $37,000 dollars behind in her payments and to this date has still failed to make any payment. Her payment is $ 2,400 a month so add that to the September amount....she is way over 40,000 behind in payments. The LL fell short as my realtor So HER BROKER told her she was not going to represent me any longer, and had someone else in the office represent me.I signed loan docks all we needed was one more paper from the seller, saying needed to extend the fed. tax lean for another 24 hours while we funded the loan and it was recorded. With her lack of performance the house has now fell through, the leans were lifted but she failed to tell anyone about changes the seller and the bank wanted.The seller was so mad, he decided to just let the home go into foreclosure! Do I legally still have to pay her rent? My house is half packed, but now I have no where to go. I am trying to find out if there is any recourse I have with the seller and need to know what my rights are about staying here, until I can find something else. Please advise, "thank you" ..........binzbrat

Your rent and your sales contract are two separate issues, although they may appear as one to you.

You must continue to pay whatever rent is required by your lease. Your lease has converted to a month to month contract. It is still valid and in force. Unless you have any different amount of rent in writing from your LL, you are obligated to the amount in the signed contract. Continue to pay it as required. If you fail to do so, and have nothing in writing to prove that you are to pay a lesser amount, the LL can sue you for non-payment and evict you. I would not trust this LL after her conduct. Pay the full amount. Find a new place to move, provide her written 30 days notice to vacate prior to the beginning of your rental month, pay rent for that month, then move out. Give the LL your forwarding address in writing and demand that your deposit be sent to you within 21 days as required by CA law.

The sales contract is another matter. If the contract negotiations had been taken over by another agent in the firm, why did that agent not know or discover that seller or bank requirements were different than on the original paperwork? What requirements had changed? How long did this other agent represent you? If more than a few weeks, it sounds as if both your original agent (the LL) and this one were negligent in their duties as real estate agents. Contact the state board that licenses realtors in your area. You may have a cause of cation against the agents or the firm.

[sunlover]

Nothing you posted frees you from paying rent. If its any help here is CA laws on rentals you can browse through

Landlord/Tenant Book Index - California Department of Consumer Affairs