     RA (Wilfire99) | Thursday, July 06, 2000 - 06:07 pm 
My friend and his girlfriend just broke up for the second time and this time there is no going back. They both signed a 2 year lease for an apt for $2000.00 per month rent. He moved out and she wants to stay. Now she refuses to pay the whole amount of the rent and told the landlord to sue for the other half. Although the landlord can do this, my friend has IRS tax liens. Now, my question is, Can my friend offer a settlement amount to the landlord to be removed from the lease and make his ex girl-friend the only tenant responsible for the rent? If the landlord does choose to sue for the $24,000.00 (24 months at $1000.00 each)and gets a judgement, will the landlord have to wait until the tax liens are paid (10 years)? Will it be in the best interest of the landlord to take a settlement amount of say $3,000.00-$6,000.00 to remove my friend from the lease and give his ex gilfirend 3-6 months to find another place to live?
Also, is it legal for my friend to offer a settlement to be removed from the lease? |
| Christine Baker (Admin) | Thursday, July 06, 2000 - 07:57 pm
Landlord tenant law varies GREATLY not only by State, but also by county and city.
Call the local city housing department for the applicable laws.
Even in the worst case scenario, the landlord has to make a reasonable effort to rerent the unit ASAP and CAN NOT charge the amount of the full lease UNLESS there is not a single tenant looking to rent for the next 2 years for any amount.
Obviously, she has to move out or sign the lease in only her name. Your friend needs to give WRITTEN notice to both the landlord and the ex g/f ASAP so that the unit can be advertised and shown.
If the market rent of the unit has decreased, say down to $1,500/month, your friend might have to pay the difference. It's all negotiable. There is nothing illegal about settling the matter.
Your friend can of course demand that the ex g/f pick up 50% of any amount he pays, as long as he can prove that she was responsible for 50% of the rent.
I don't understand why the landlord would want to sue only your friend for the difference, because all tenants who sign the lease are usually liable for the ENTIRE rent UNLESS otherwise specified.
It's definitely NOT normal to have someone move out and expect them to pay their rent for another 2 years! She needs to move or pay. |
| don (Saxman) | Thursday, July 06, 2000 - 08:27 pm
I agree with the above. A quick thought about tax liens. I would have to check the statute, but probably the "landlord lien" would "prime" (be superior to) the tax lien. A landlord lien is the right of a landlord to keep a tenant's stuff if they don't pay rent.
Need to move or pay. In most any jurisdiction, it will take a month to a month and a half to complete an eviction, even in a summary (quck) proceeding which most states have to allow landlords to get deadbeat tenants out relatively quickly--but it still is a legal proceeding which takes some time. The landlord has to get a lawyer (or he may have been around the block enough to do it himself); serve the tenant with what is generally some sort of notice (usually a "notice to quit possession"), bring an action in court and have a hearing. After all of that, and the court issues an order, then the sheriffs can move the tenant's stuff to the curb, but not before.
Realistic solution, string along the landlord as long as possible with whatever payments are possible while looking for another place. |
| don (Saxman) | Thursday, July 06, 2000 - 08:34 pm
One more thing, your friend sounds like she might be "judgment proof"; which means that a judgment would not be collectible. However, if the IRS is not garnishing her wages, a judgment creditor can notwithstanding an earlier tax lien that is not being enforced. The IRS lien might be enough to convince the landlord not to sue, and let her go away. In my experience, unless someone has a good job that they are going to keep for a while, or has assets, a judgment is often a worthless piece of paper. If a landlord can get your friend (landlord's headache) out of the building, that might be enough. |
| TEO (Kurwenal) | Thursday, November 09, 2000 - 03:36 pm
Please give me advice:
I leased a Chicago apartment in September 1994 and occupied this unit for four months. During this time I made written and verbal requests to repair items, many of which were city or state code violations and few of which were remedied. Among these were basic security items to address a spree of over seven burglaries (including my own apartment which was cleaned out), inadequate heating, oven and plumbing repairs, sanitation issues and emergency exit obstructions. It took six weeks, verbal requests, four written requests and a formal complaint to the Department of Buildings to simply get a functioning smoke detector. There was no response to my written concerns over security at the fire escape window until after the burglary when bars were improperly installed. For at least two months the back entrance gate's lock did not properly catch. Ultimately the extreme lack of security and total absence of management concern made me feel terribly unsafe. After more written and verbal requests remained unanswered I set a deadline date in January (1995) and on that date wrote to terminate my lease when there was no response. I mailed most of these letters certified mail/return receipt. The representative of the management company refused to return my security deposit (one month's rent). In March 1997, over two years later, after no further contact with the management company and no legal judgments filed against me, I received a collection notice for $3255 (the equivalent of the remainder for the 12-month lease) and when I refused to pay, this went onto my credit reports in April 1997. I've since written to both the management company and the collection agency and received no response. I've sent copies of the letters, etc. to dispute the item with the credit bureaus, but have only received notices back that the derogatory credit information is verified correct.
I believe this apartment was rented shortly after my notice that I was vacating the premises. However, I was not aware that the management company would pursue me until over two years later when I received the notification from the collection agency.
How do I prove the apartment was rented shortly afterwards? Are there any public records to support this?
I've been living and working in the Southeast for the past three years. My wife and I would like to buy a home soon but I know we will have a lot of difficulty getting a mortgage with this open collection account on my credit report. Other than this prominently listed derogatory item, our credit reports are great. Because of the slow response from the management company and collection agency, I believe the SOL expires April 2004 (over nine years after my final payment!). What suggestions can anyone give for resolving this issue? |
| Christine Baker (Admin) | Saturday, November 11, 2000 - 06:18 am
If you can find a good lawyer, you can probably get some down payment cash from that slumlord for your hassles.
I wouldn't worry about proving when it was rerented, I'd sue for the refund of the deposit PLUS compensation for the hassles. That of course will take care of the collection.
It sounds like you got plenty of proof as long as you kept your letters. The building department has the records of your complaint about the smoke detector.
Definitely don't pay.
Check with the Chicago Housing Department, they may investigate complaints and FINE slumlords.
If they're not helpful, you'll have to sue, since you want to buy a house and you really don't need THIS.
I'd appreciate an update. |
| TEO (Kurwenal) | Monday, November 13, 2000 - 06:37 am
At Christine's advice, I've spoken with a couple of Chicago lawyers and have gotten some confusing responses. Although they call it clearly "fraud" they are recommending that rather than working with real estate lawyers I work with mortgage lawyers or local credit clearance services. The mortgage lawyer in Chicago said that he couldn't help me because I am out of state. He also recommended I call the collection agency and settle (remove from report, of course.) I would like this off my CR, but aren't the collection agency and my former landlord the people I should be considering legal action against?
Thanks for any advice anyone can offer. |
