Floating Lease? Locked in after submitting an app and being approved?

[mark1210]

What is the name of your state? TX

Have you guys heard the term "Floating Lease"? This is a new one to me and I am confused. I filled out a rental application and submitted a check for 75.00 for a deposit to lock in the current special and a 40.00 app fee. I no longer wish to pursue the apartment as I am buying a home. I am being told I cannot cancel, I have a floating lease without a specified term (6,12,18 mos). I am confused, I thought an application was just that, to see if you are approved or not. Advice?

 

[JETX]

"Advice?"
*** I am also not familiar with that term (as to residential leases).... or its supposed obligations.

Read the documents you did sign and see if there is anything in them that creates a lease obligation upon approved application. If you don't see any specific obligation, I would suggest that you ask them to show you in the documents you DID sign where it says anything about 'obligation' on application. Or anything in state law that supports their claim of a lease obligation.
If they can't, then the answer is clear...

 

[amyluvsrich]

***THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE... SIMPLY AN ANSWER BASED ON PERSONAL EXPERIENCE***

When I lived in Texas I got caught in something similar... I never heard the term "floating lease" though... I filled out an application and was told that if I wanted the special offer I would have to leave a deposit, so I did... a couple days later I was told I was approved, but by that time I'd found someplace I liked better... they then advised me that by leaving a deposit that was considered an agreement to rent a unit and I was obligated to take the apartment... but that if I had just applied I wouldn't have had an obligation... somehow my mom talked them into letting me out of it, but I did lose the deposit.
I don't know if it's *legal* or not, but apparently not entirely uncommon in Texas.
Good luck!

 

[JETX]

Lets look at this issue with a little more detail. The following are all excerpted from the Texas Property Code:

Lease "means any written or oral agreement between a landlord and tenant that establishes or modifies the terms, conditions, rules, or other provisions regarding the use and occupancy of a dwelling." (§92.001(3))
*** So an application is clearly NOT a lease.

The landlord has certain obligations when accepting an application. They are covered in Subchapter I of the Code and include:
"(1) "Application deposit" means a sum of money that is given to the landlord in connection with a rental application and that is refundable to the applicant if the applicant is rejected as a tenant.
*** Clearly, the 'application deposit' has nothing to do with a lease deposit or obligation.

And most important of all:
'§ 92.354. LIABILITY OF LANDLORD. A landlord who in bad faith fails to refund an application deposit in violation of this subchapter is liable for an amount equal to the sum of $100, three times the amount of the application deposit, and the applicant's reasonable attorney's fees in a suit to recover the deposit."

The applicable Code can be found at:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/PR/content/htm/pr.008.00.000092.00.htm

 

[HomeGuru]

What is your opinion JETX? In this case, can the applicant demand the return of the $75 and $45 deposit and application fee?

 

[JETX]

What is your opinion JETX? In this case, can the applicant demand the return of the $75 and $45 deposit and application fee?

1) Deal 'lock-in' fee ($75.00):
The landlord is obligated to refund this fee since the applicant will not receive benefit of the 'deal'. Simply, mutual consideration does not arise.

2) Application fee ($40.00):
Mixed on this one. If the $40 is in fact FULLY an application 'deposit', Texas Property Code requires refund if the applicant is denied. However, I feel that there may be some confusion on this. The 'fee' seems high to be a 'deposit' and I have to assume that some of it is really to compensate costs of pre-tenant screening and/or credit application. (I do not charge an 'application deposit', but do charge a non-refundable FEE for those services..... and my application clearly states as such.)
The key in this case would be the ACTUAL purpose of the fee and what, if anything, the application says about it.

 

[HomeGuru]

Thanks for your help.

 

[еberha14]

1) Deal 'lock-in' fee ($75.00):
The landlord is obligated to refund this fee since the applicant will not receive benefit of the 'deal'. Simply, mutual consideration does not arise.

This information is incorrect.

The purpose of the application deposit is to be money paid to "keep the offer open" during negotiations; i.e. it reserves the property for the prosective tenant. If the landlord rejects the prospective tenant, he is obliged to refund the entire deposit. However, if the prospective tenant revokes, and the rental application contains the appropriate language, the landlord may be justified in keeping a pre-determined amount of the application deposit as liquidated damages; this is more often than not the entire application deposit. Conditions apply. For instance, if the matter went to court, the landlord would have to be able to justify the amount as being a reasonable forecast for just compensation.

 

[krispenstpeter]

This information is incorrect.

The purpose of the application deposit is to be money paid to "keep the offer open" during negotiations; i.e. it reserves the property for the prosective tenant. If the landlord rejects the prospective tenant, he is obliged to refund the entire deposit. However, if the prospective tenant revokes, and the rental application contains the appropriate language, the landlord may be justified in keeping a pre-determined amount of the application deposit as liquidated damages; this is more often than not the entire application deposit. Conditions apply. For instance, if the matter went to court, the landlord would have to be able to justify the amount as being a reasonable forecast for just compensation.

And if wishes were fishes we'd all have a fry.

GEEEZ

 

[JETX]

Ignore Everidiot. He has been proven numerous times on this forum to have NO legal experience or knowledge..... and posts random ramblings that are simply NOT correct.

 

[еberha14]

Ignore Everidiot. He has been proven numerous times on this forum to have NO legal experience or knowledge..... and posts random ramblings that are simply NOT correct.

Speak for yourself. I stand by what I write, including what I contributed to this thread. I don't claim to be perfect. The judges in the highest appellate courts are not immune from making errors of law, and neither am I. I do, however, believe that the information I provide to this forum to generally be accurate and helpful, and I've proven myself on numerous occassions and have had to do a lot of clean up work in the past to correct your legal blunders. I also post with respect for the people who come here to ask questions rather than insulting them or making them feel unwelcome as so many others. Unlike many others, I try to maintain a certain level of decorum when responding directly to people who come here with often serious, real life concerns. I can understand your jealousy given the tens of thousands of times you have posted here, but I really would prefer that you and your few cronies refrain from making ad hominem attacks. It only distracts from the legal queries, wastes bandwidth, and annoys the people who come here with problems when I have to stop at every thread to defend myself when I could be using that time to provide helpful information in other threads. Perhaps you enjoyed it in the past when I did all manner of high-level, formal legal analysis and case law research to disprove your claims and validate my own. I think that is what it is. You simply get a kick out of wasting my limited (and valuable) time, and even after I go through the trouble of doing all this work, you ignore your own motto of "aut disce aut discede" by continuing to post responses after I've responded to a thread.

 

[krispenstpeter]

Definition of Pompous Ass:

See previous thread.

 

[JETX]

Speak for yourself. I stand by what I write, including what I contributed to this thread. I don't claim to be perfect. The judges in the highest appellate courts are not immune from making errors of law, and neither am I. I do, however, believe that the information I provide to this forum to generally be accurate and helpful, and I've proven myself on numerous occassions and have had to do a lot of clean up work in the past to correct your legal blunders. I also post with respect for the people who come here to ask questions rather than insulting them or making them feel unwelcome as so many others. Unlike many others, I try to maintain a certain level of decorum when responding directly to people who come here with often serious, real life concerns. I can understand your jealousy given the tens of thousands of times you have posted here, but I really would prefer that you and your few cronies refrain from making ad hominem attacks. It only distracts from the legal queries, wastes bandwidth, and annoys the people who come here with problems when I have to stop at every thread to defend myself when I could be using that time to provide helpful information in other threads. Perhaps you enjoyed it in the past when I did all manner of high-level, formal legal analysis and case law research to disprove your claims and validate my own. I think that is what it is. You simply get a kick out of wasting my limited (and valuable) time, and even after I go through the trouble of doing all this work, you ignore your own motto of "aut disce aut discede" by continuing to post responses after I've responded to a thread.

Lets see... should I spend 10 minutes showing everyone why you are known on this forum to be 'legally brain dead', or let your words speak for themselves since it is already obvious.
I think I will save my time..... and simply let you hang by your own petard.
I will though simply say.... your incorrect posts are NOT "contributing", nor are they GENERALLY (or specifically) "accurate and helpful".

 

[HomeGuru]

JETX, please do it.

 

[HomeGuru]

Speak for yourself. I stand by what I write...


I also post with respect for the people......rather than insulting them or making them feel unwelcome as so many others. Unlike many others, I try to maintain a certain level of decorum when responding directly to people.....


**A: Your user name here was eberha14 then changed to e berha14, why? Did something happen?