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Lease changed after signatures aquired

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pjk90263

Guest
Our landlord has changed the amount of rent due on our new lease after we had signed it. Our copy of the lease is mysteriously missing. What legal recourse do we have? The have knownly and effectively tampered with a lease that was all ready signed.
 


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mme

Guest
How can a lease dissapear?

Maybe you should ALWAYS have a safe deposit box to put important papers in....

still cant figure out how a lease dissapears...are you saying the LL broke into your apartment and stole it?


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pjk90263:
Our landlord has changed the amount of rent due on our new lease after we had signed it. Our copy of the lease is mysteriously missing. What legal recourse do we have? The have knownly and effectively tampered with a lease that was all ready signed.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 
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pjk90263

Guest
We believe its very possible the land lord took our copy and changed it. that i can deal with, the big point here is legally what can I do if they have changed the lease after we have signed it??
 
M

meee

Guest
How did you find out about the apartment? A Broker? a newspaper ad? ...was a rental price listed? That would be a good defense to changing the lease.


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pjk90263:
We believe its very possible the land lord took our copy and changed it. that i can deal with, the big point here is legally what can I do if they have changed the lease after we have signed it??<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 
T

Tracey

Guest
Yes, you can sue L & ask a court to declare the lease null & void OR to reinsert the old rental rate. You'll have a difficult standard of proof though. Did you initial every page? Can you show that L unstapled the signature page & restapled it to the new lease? (extra holes in 1 page)

You can sue L under 566.20, for "violating" the lease under 518.18(6)(c) by changing a material term after execution. You should do so immediately. When you sue L, take advantage of the rent escrow law. [566.34] The court will give you an affidavit form to fill out alleging the violation (changing a material term after execution). Thereafter, you pay your rent to the court. The court decides how much L gets. You'll have to pay the full rent given in the lease -- L can evict you if you don't pay the entire rent to the court. The court will set a hearing within 2 weeks & decide the case. Don't forget to ask the court to fine L under 566.35 if L doesn't do what the court orders him to do.

You also get to raise the issue that L didn't give you a copy of the lease until after he'd doctored it. This may have violated 504.015(2) & constitute a defense against L's claim that you have to pay the extra rent.

By the way, I predict you're going to have problems getting your damage deposit back. Document the initial condition of the apt meticulously with a date/time stamp camera or camcorder when you move in & move out. Send all repair requests in writing, certified, return receipt, & keep a log of when the repair is made. Have witnesses who can testify that the place had no funny smells when you left it.

Good luck.

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.
 

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