rental lease mistake by rental agency

[krs42]

What is the name of your state? Louisiana

Hello, I evacuated New Orleans area after Katrina and signed a lease to rent with an agency in Baton Rouge to rent a single family residence. I HAD to verbally agree under duress for ONE YEAR lease from October 2005 to September 2006. My repeated requests for a six months lease was turned down. Also the rental agency added a clause that I can cancel the lease after six months provided I give a 45 days advance notice and a half-months rent. Theis real estate agency was not alone in ripping off Katrina victims.

When I signed the lease the termination date was noted in the lease as March 31, 2006 (this is what I wanted in the first place!). Apparently this was a clerical error on their part but the owner of the residence caught this mistake and corrected it to read September 2006 and initialled by it. Now th real estate agency is pestering me to co-sign to verify the correction (by initialling) and I have not responded to it so far in a month. Can I continue to ignore this and get out of this lease agreement by March 2006? - provide I give ample advance notice that I will be terminating the lease. I really would like to get out of this lease as amicably as possible.

I am also concerned that the real estate agency has my deposit (equivalent to one months rent). I am hoping that she will return the deposit without fussing after I leave on March 31, 2006.

Your advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[JETX]

When I signed the lease the termination date was noted in the lease as March 31, 2006 (this is what I wanted in the first place!). Apparently this was a clerical error on their part but the owner of the residence caught this mistake and corrected it to read September 2006 and initialled by it.

Most leases will include the term in more place than one. For example, does the lease say ONE YEAR?? Does the rent say 12 months?? If any of the above, or similar, is in the lease, than the error in the dates will likely be waived by a court.... and recognize that it is in fact a one year lease.

Now th real estate agency is pestering me to co-sign to verify the correction (by initialling) and I have not responded to it so far in a month. Can I continue to ignore this and get out of this lease agreement by March 2006?

Probably not. See above.

provide I give ample advance notice that I will be terminating the lease. I really would like to get out of this lease as amicably as possible.

Then 'play by the rules and quit playing games'.

I am also concerned that the real estate agency has my deposit (equivalent to one months rent). I am hoping that she will return the deposit without fussing after I leave on March 31, 2006.

ROTFLMAO!!!
Of course you know you can't have it both ways, don't you??

Your advice will be greatly appreciated.

We'll see.

 

[krs42]

Thank you, JETX. To answer your questions --

The lease specifies TERM commencing on the 9th Oct 2005 and ending on the last day of March 2006 (now corrected as Septemeber 2006 - not co-cosigned by me). Nowhere else the lease period is mentioned.

At the end of the lease under "Special stipulations" the following has been written in - "After 6 months of lease lessee may be released from contract with a 45 day notice and payment of the leasing of half months rent"

Yep, I am not trying to play games here. Having gone through hell after Katrina, I am trying to stand on my own feet after all these expenses.

 

[south]

Duress by who? It was a yes or no offer, there was no arm bending.

Your repeated requests were turned down because they did not want to offer a short lease, so how does that make them guilty of ripping of Katrina 'people'?

The landlord is not a charity he had a standard 1 year lease available just like anywhere else, that does not make him or his realtor a rip off because they do not want to have his offer hacked up into a worthless time period.

I HAD to verbally agree under duress for ONE YEAR lease from October 2005 to September 2006. My repeated requests for a six months lease was turned down.

Theis real estate agency was not alone in ripping off Katrina victims.