maorvis
03-25-2011, 02:41 PM
Hello-
I've been renting at the same apartment complex for over 3 years, this year will be my fourth. My lease is up every August and last June I was sent a somewhat threatening renewal letter, stating that if I didn't sign a lease immediately, they would show my apartment and rent it out when my lease was up. So, in June, I signed what I thought was the lease, but it turns out they were just some sort of renewal papers, just paperwork leading up to a lease, not an actual lease. I opted for a 7 month lease, with the last month of the lease being February. I called in July and was told they were finishing up my lease and they would call me when it was ready to sign. August came and went and we were told just to pay the same amount of rent we had been paying, as the lease wasn't finished. This continued until November. Finally, they called me in November and told me the lease was ready and that I could come to the leasing office to sign, again threatening me that if I didn't do it within a week they would lease out the apartment from underneath me because I was living in it without a valid lease.
I went down immediately and then I was told there was an error on their end with the paperwork, to keep paying the same amount for rent and they would call me back in in December to sign. I did not hear from them until the end of January, when the lease would have been just about to expire. I was told that the lease was ready to sign and I reminded them that it was set to expire at the end of February. They told me that that was not so because the lease was only good from the time it was signed and that signing the lease put the lease into effect from February until the end of October, an extra month because they decided to stop allowing 7 month leases. They are in effect focing me to stay here. I argued with them and they said they would contact the management company, but they didn't think that they would allow me to get out of here in March. It is almost April and I still haven't heard from them.
In the meantime, the complex has been wrought with violent crime and car break-ins and I have had to call the police 4 times in the past month and a half. The grounds are not cleaned, tenants being arrested for violent crimes are not kicked out by the leasing office, etc. So, I have decided to move.
Normally, there is a 60 notice required if you wish to move, but that is if you have a lease. I do not have a lease and I haven't even signed a month-to-month lease. Can they sue me for not giving notice if I move, even if they have not given me a lease? Is it legal what they have done to me and my husband? What do I do if they attempt to bring me to court?
Any help would be appreciated!
I've been renting at the same apartment complex for over 3 years, this year will be my fourth. My lease is up every August and last June I was sent a somewhat threatening renewal letter, stating that if I didn't sign a lease immediately, they would show my apartment and rent it out when my lease was up. So, in June, I signed what I thought was the lease, but it turns out they were just some sort of renewal papers, just paperwork leading up to a lease, not an actual lease. I opted for a 7 month lease, with the last month of the lease being February. I called in July and was told they were finishing up my lease and they would call me when it was ready to sign. August came and went and we were told just to pay the same amount of rent we had been paying, as the lease wasn't finished. This continued until November. Finally, they called me in November and told me the lease was ready and that I could come to the leasing office to sign, again threatening me that if I didn't do it within a week they would lease out the apartment from underneath me because I was living in it without a valid lease.
I went down immediately and then I was told there was an error on their end with the paperwork, to keep paying the same amount for rent and they would call me back in in December to sign. I did not hear from them until the end of January, when the lease would have been just about to expire. I was told that the lease was ready to sign and I reminded them that it was set to expire at the end of February. They told me that that was not so because the lease was only good from the time it was signed and that signing the lease put the lease into effect from February until the end of October, an extra month because they decided to stop allowing 7 month leases. They are in effect focing me to stay here. I argued with them and they said they would contact the management company, but they didn't think that they would allow me to get out of here in March. It is almost April and I still haven't heard from them.
In the meantime, the complex has been wrought with violent crime and car break-ins and I have had to call the police 4 times in the past month and a half. The grounds are not cleaned, tenants being arrested for violent crimes are not kicked out by the leasing office, etc. So, I have decided to move.
Normally, there is a 60 notice required if you wish to move, but that is if you have a lease. I do not have a lease and I haven't even signed a month-to-month lease. Can they sue me for not giving notice if I move, even if they have not given me a lease? Is it legal what they have done to me and my husband? What do I do if they attempt to bring me to court?
Any help would be appreciated!