I signed a lease which states gas and electricity is on the landlord, landlord "finds" about that a month later. He now tells me I either sign a new one or he'll evict me within 48 hours! Can he legally do either?

NakedMuffinTime · 22時間前

Aside from others saying that what the landlord is doing is illegal, I would make many many copies of your lease and keep them safe. If he does try to take you to court for an eviction proceeding, that lease will be very valuable in your defense

myeyeballhurts · 22時間前

I had this happen years ago with a place that I signed the lease that water was included, went to move in, no water. Called and the lady said "oh you do pay water there, come on in and sign a new lease", I was like "Na, I already signed this one that includes the water so go ahead and turn it on", she didnt like it but nothing could be done.

thepatman · 22時間前

He very likely can't break the lease for this.

If he tries to lock you out/force you out, or he cuts off utilities, call the police. If he serves you with a termination of tenancy/eviction notice, you'll need to handle that in court. You can go provide your defense, which is a very good one.

Darkfriend337 · 19時間前

A mistake on a lease is grounds to favor the intended terms instead of the written terms, but this instance goes far beyond that. This isn't a typo (lease is 150 dollars instead of 1500 dollars) or a mistake (giving you the lease to the wrong building if the LL has several properties) where both parties known and understand what the terms were supposed to be when signing the lease.

Here, the LL failed to read over an updated lease, signed it anyway, and you thought that the terms of what you read and signed were what was intended.

The LL doesn't have a recourse to a new lease unless you agree to, and sign, a new lease. (Don't do that).

He can't evict you, lock you out (if he does, call the police), or force you to sign a new lease.

You are in the right here.

genxer · 21時間前

NAL -- but I'd point out the penalty for illegal eviction to him.

thebluefish92 · 22時間前

Sucks for the LL, but a lease is legally binding.

The LL cannot evict you unless you violated the lease. So make sure that you understand everything that you agreed to, and that you do not give him any grounds to begin the eviction process. Even paying rent a day late would be enough for them.

Make sure to keep copies of your lease. Make sure to get receipts for all payments made. Make sure to keep copies of all correspondence. If this LL does take you to court by way of an eviction lawsuit, you need to have everything you can to mount a good defense.

If he tries to throw you out without going through the eviction process, call the police.

DoomBot5 · 20時間前

Make sure you take photographs of everything in your house. Worst case scenario your LL not only changes the locks, but also tosses all your stuff. This means you now sue them for all the value of your stuff. Having photo evidence of all you own will make things trivial and makes sure you do not forget anything.

Any items of sentimental value should be moved to the ~~safety~~ safe deposit box.

swalsh411 · 22時間前

He's full of crap. He's bound to it just like you are. It's his fault if he didn't read it. Yes call the cops if he tries to throw you out that it completely illegal for him to do that.

DevilGuy · 19時間前

yeah what he's doing is totally illegal, first he can't force you to sign a new lease, a lease is a contract he agreed to, he can't simply change it without your agreement and you don't have to agree to anything. Second, You're in texas he can't evict you with 48 hours notice, even if your lease was month to month he'd need to tell you the preceding month with at least thirty days notice till move out, in your situation he'd need to get a court order and to do that he has to prove you're breaking the rules of the lease:

Court approval required

If a tenant refuses to move after a landlord asks the tenant to leave, the landlord must file an eviction case with the J.P. court to get approval to remove the tenant. The landlord must prove that the tenant has either violated the lease or has not moved after the landlord lawfully did not renew the lease. While it may be the landlord's property, before a tenant can actually be forced from their home a court rule for the landlord and a constable must supervise the actual eviction. Court approval is required because landlords make mistakes and because they sometimes have improper motives. And, if a landlord did not have to get court approval prior to evicting someone from their home these problems would be even worse.

countykerry · 22時間前

no, he can't break the lease early and evict you for this. if he attempts an illegal eviction, call the police.

Richard_Berg · 16時間前

If he really wants to evict you, and his "crazy" (per other comments) behavior is worth escaping, you can offer to disclaim the lease in exchange for $$$. Say, 6 months' rent for vacating by Jan 1.

Zel651 · 18時間前

If the lease month-to-month he can evict you with a proper (30-day? Not sure.) notice. If not he's shit out of luck until the end of your lease.

A little advice (Something not mentioned yet). Document EVERYTHING damage related. Hopefully upon moving in you documented everything. Take pictures. Make that place spotless when you move out and document upon moving out. He could try to fuck you immediately, months after, or even years after moving out with a surprise bill that surpasses your security deposit. I guarantee you'll have to bring this guy to small claims when moving out unless you don't care about your security deposit. Just don't want to get stuck with a $3000 dollar bill.

Plan to move out when your lease is up. This guy isn't going to make your life easy so you need to do everything right or it'll cost you.

fooliam · 15時間前

Not reading the contract is not a reason to break it.

He has no legal basis for forcing you to sign a new lease, nor for evicting you.

He may try an illegal eviction. It would likely be beneficial to you to call around now to your state BAR or local attorneys to find someone who deals with landlord/tenant issues and evictions, so that you have someone to call when this idiot tried to illegally evict you.

If this guy is as much of an idiot as I suspect he is (really, he's trying the "I didn't read it" defense. He's an idiot.), he is going to try some crooked shit. You may consider telling him that for $1000 (or whatever it would cost you to move), you will amicably terminate the lease, because you are NOT going to want to deal with this kinda crazy for the next year.

giraffe_taxi · 14時間前

He said when the old tenant left he wanted some changes on the new lease so he gave it to his lawyer friend and then when he took it back he didn't have the time to read it all. He says he's not responsible for his friends action.

Well that's just adorable. Poor little guy! First he can't afford to actually pay for an attorney. On top of that, he's so pressed for time he can't read his own business paperwork. And to just add to the pile, this poor soul, wronged by everyone, has simply never had time to bring himself up to speed on legal evictions, either.

Since 'nothing is his fault' here, it sounds like you're dealing with a narcissist. Just to cover your ass for the inevitable future bullshit you are likely to face, it wouldn't hurt for you to retain an attorney now. Or budget for one, save up, and make it your big expenditure of a new year's gift to you.

wanderingdev · 10時間前

Lots of great feedback. The only thing I didn't see mentioned is to keep a few changes of clothes in your car. That way, if he does lock you out and you're forced to go to a hotel you won't have to deal with needing to shop too.

ThePretzul · 4時間前

OP: I just want to say, reading through the comments, you really have all your ducks in a row. It stinks that the landlord is probably going to try to illegally evict you, but know that the law will be on your side (even if it isn't immediately apparent if the police don't let you in/you have to pay out of pocket for a locksmith).

The good news is, should your landlord try to illegally evict you and lock you out, you will likely be able to easily find an attorney willing to take on your case since the landlord would need to pay for the attorney costs as well as your damages and court fees. If he illegally evicts you, you have an absolute slam dunk of a case that any lawyer would be salivating over.

For the record, no eviction proceeding will occur in the next 48 hours. He would need to post notice, wait the appropriate notice period (usually 30 days), and then file for an eviction which would involve court hearings (that you would have to go to) before a final period in which the judge will grant a date for the sheriff to remove you from the premises if necessary. All told the process usually takes somewhere between two and six months depending on the circumstances, so you don't need to worry about being tossed out onto the streets by the courts anytime soon even if he did try to evict you and somehow managed to win.

If the landlord locks you out, moves your stuff out, or starts to render the place uninhabitable (cuts power or gas as it was stated he would provide) then that is the start of a creative eviction and you should call the police and calmly explain the situation to them with all your documents. It might be worth it to create a folder for them that includes a copy of your lease, any communication about that 48 hours to leave that you have in writing (or in email/text printed out), a flash drive containing photographs of all your posessions and the entire residence (more on this later), and a brief (maybe one page) explanation of what is going on that expands upon the communication contained in the folder. Obviously the police may not care, but I'd be willing to wager they'd at least want your lease and the rest of the stuff can't hurt to have on hand in case they'd like it to reference later.

In addition, should he try to illegally evict you you need to keep all of your receipts for expenses incurred. Locksmith, hotel (if the locksmith won't let you in), eating out/buying groceries (if you have to live out of a hotel and don't have access to your groceries), increased cost of daily commute (should you be further away from your place of employment), etc. Any little thing that is an extra expense caused by his illegal eviction should have a receipt that you keep organized and safe so that you can recoup every penny in the following court case. Good record keeping is the way to make it easy for the judge to asses any potential damages.

As for what you should do now, the best idea would be to document your current living conditions. Photograph all of your possessions and the entire residence to show its current condition (in case the landlord damages anything and tries to blame you), and store it in a safe place (a flash drive in the bank deposit box you mentioned would be fantastic!). This means that should he try to evict you and he damages or loses any item you would have pretty solid evidence that the damage or loss was caused by his illegal eviction, awarding you further damages.

In addition to the above, you should gently remind the landlord about the legally binding status of the lease and the penalties if he should try to force you to leave. Be careful to avoid any sort of threatening undertones, meaning something along the lines of, "Hey, I don't know if you've researched this, but I was reading up on the lease issue and found..." would be better than, "I will sue you if..." If the landlord is aware of the consequences of his actions, it's at least somewhat less likely he'll attempt to illegally evict. If he has a lawyer contact you about the lease, your best option would be to get a lawyer yourself (it sucks, I know, but it's better than having an eviction on your record and you could potentially win your legal fees back when his claim goes nowhere).

Sorry again to hear about what's going on, but since you have everything lined up nicely up to this point it seems you have little to worry about.

Built-In · 13時間前

I haven't seen it mentioned in comments yet, so I want to tell you to only communicate in writing with him from now on. Email or text. Do not answer any phone calls, let him leave a message.

I would write an email to him summarizing what he's said to you thus far, and quoting your state's laws about illegal evictions.

AmoebaNot · 16時間前

What is going to happen when the landlord doesn't pay the utilities and they get cut off? Don't keep too much food in your refrigerator until all this get resolved.

Erin42 · 14時間前

You've gotten good advice, so I won't repeat everything.

I'd like to recommend the Liberty Mutual app for a home inventory. It's easy and has the ability to add pictures, serial numbers, and location in the home. It also has cloud backup.

tgrkttn · 13時間前

To throw in with everyone else, please get a camera for your house, and also take a video walk-through of everything that you own, make sure to include model numbers too. That way if he does throw your stuff out you know what to go after him for and have proof that you owned it.

arguablytrue · 12時間前

Tell him to sue his lawyer friend. He's the one that caused the damage here.

shamwowwow · 13時間前

If this was a place that you liked and landlord was acting reasonable, I would suggest signing a new lease that rearranges the utilities. Split it so the landlord pays water and gas and you pay electricity. (That is a pretty normal way to split things in my area.)

In this case, however, the landlord sounds not very bright, so you might want to consider moving. If you try to stick to the existing lease they may try to evict you, or make it so you don't want to live there. (That is also a type of eviction.)

I think your best bet would be to ask for a termination fee, your deposit and a clean reference in exchange for terminating your lease and moving.

LucidMagi · 13時間前

This is a little of topic so if erased I'll understand... INAL But you know if you don't sign a new lease he isn't going to let you stay a second year.. I personally would sees if he will negotiate tell him that while you are under no obligation to sign a new lease, you would sign a three year lease at a reduced amount. Something less than what it is going to cost him to pay your utilities monthly but save you money over the threes years. Win/Win.

zxcsd · 1時間前

Make sure you record all phone calls and real-life conversations with him.

Texas's wiretapping law is a "one-party consent" law. Texas makes it a crime to intercept or record any "wire, oral, or electronic communication" unless one party to the conversation consent.

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