Verbal Agreement w/Landlord to Terminate Lease

[dinakerls]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

In September 2006, I closed on my first home purchase resulting in having to terminate my lease early with my landlord (lease ends February 2007).

Afraid that this house buying deal would not go through, I was afraid to let my landlord know ahead of time that I wanted to terminate my lease b/c if the home purchase did not go through as planned and I had terminated my lease and they had found someone to rent my apartment then my son and I wouldn't have anywhere to live.

But to try to make things right, I offered to pay October's rent even though I wouldn't be living there any longer and I didn't expect my security deposit back (I think it was $300). The landlord told me that she would do everything in her power to get someone to rent my apartment ASAP and that she didn't think that there would be any problems renting the apartment out quickly since 2 bedroom apartments were a hot commodity. She also said that in the event that the apartment is rented out before the end of October that she would refund me the difference in rent.

So, as promised, in a yellow envelope, I enclosed the keys to my apartment, mailbox, security pass to the gym, parking stickers, passes, and my check for rent for the month of October, deposited in the rent slot on October 1st. I made sure that the envelope made it all the way to the bottom because sometimes things get stuck in the slot.

So now its October 25th and I just now received a letter from them stating that I had not paid my rent and they were levying late charges and threatened eviction, judgment, etc.

What rights do I have now at this point? I budgeted for October's rent but not for attorneys fees and late fees, etc. Furthermore, if the apartment is not leased by October 31st then I am going to have to owe another month's rent and I can't afford to pay that and my mortgage due on November 1st! And I don't want a judgment on my credit!

I have a feeling they did this on purpose so that the apartment could not be rented in time. But how can I prove it?

Thanks in advance to all who respond.


What is the name of your state?

[dinakerls]

Alos, just to give a little more history: I have been a been their tenant for over 6 years without giving them a bit of trouble, always paying my rent on time.

Lately, the switched out all the personnel from the leasing office and ever since there have been issues - particularly in my building. Two of the the assistant managers were involved in personal relationships with some of the tenants in my building. Something went wrong and all of a sudden they were refusing to renew leases or kicking people out. The tenants in my building are quiet, Marines and always pay their rent on time.

I have a feeling that they are associating me with those tenants because I am friends with one of them.

Both of the assistant managers (I don't think either of them are 21 yet) overheard my conversation with the property manager who I made the verbal agreement with. Before talking with the property manager that day, the day before, she wasn't in, and the two girls were rude to me.

Like I said, I don't bother anyone, I work hard, go to school full time, raise a 9 year old alone and always pay my rent on time.

[Ohiogal]

All that and you say you paid your October rent. So you get a copy of the cancelled check for October and prove it. You signed a lease and are responsible for the rent until the apartment is rerented or the end of the lease unless you received a release in writing stating you are not responsible for the rent. You also should have given notice in writing that you were moving.

[dinakerls]

"All that and you say you paid your October rent."

What are you implying - that I didn't pay the October rent? Whatever. I also did in fact give written notice. And, I understand that they can continue to charge me rent through the end of my lease if the apartment is not rented before then.

The issue is that they are claiming that I did not pay (they still have not cashed the check 25 days later, so I am unable to get a canceled check) and they are threatening to "evict" me.

But since everyone wants to be a butt munch on here when people asked legitimate questions, I will deal with it in my way.

Thanks for nothing.

[Ohiogal]

Your welcome. no one was giving you a hard time -- the whole point of your two posts though was how to prove you paid your rent. Apparently you can't if they didn't cash the check. So what you cna do is put a stop payment on it and issue a new check.

[treese]

So, as promised, in a yellow envelope, I enclosed the keys to my apartment, mailbox, security pass to the gym, parking stickers, passes, and my check for rent for the month of October, deposited in the rent slot on October 1st...

So now its October 25th and I just now received a letter from them stating that I had not paid my rent and they were levying late charges and threatened eviction, judgment, etc.

What rights do I have now at this point?

You have the right to pay your rent. Can you prove that the envelope was placed in the slot? Since the check has not been cashed, rent has not been paid.

I budgeted for October's rent but not for attorneys fees and late fees, etc.

Then you should have put your rent check (and keys, etc ...) into someone's hand and gotten a receipt to prove that rent was paid and everything else was turned in.

Furthermore, if the apartment is not leased by October 31st then I am going to have to owe another month's rent and I can't afford to pay that and my mortgage due on November 1st!

That is the chance that you took when you broke your lease.

And I don't want a judgment on my credit!

This is likely to happen if you do not pay up and are taken to court.

I have a feeling they did this on purpose so that the apartment could not be rented in time. But how can I prove it?

You can't prove it. You also cannot prove that you paid the rent.

Both of the assistant managers (I don't think either of them are 21 yet) overheard my conversation with the property manager who I made the verbal agreement with.

What exactly was your "verbal agreement"? Verbal agreements mean nothing when there is a written agreement (lease).