my "landlord",he rents from the owner, wants to make changes to lease, Legal question

[ajtyeh]

The guy that rents the house from the owner, is subleaseing me a room for a percentage of the total rent.

I know this topic can go a million different f-ing ways. but id like to focus on one thing.


My roommate, the guy that i rent this room from sends an e-mail that says...

"First I like to address some of the changes that will take place July 1st that will be non-negotiable. In the case that anyone does not agree with the changes, please provide me with 30 days notice prior to vacating your spot/room. "

So he makes some changes, increases my rent for having my gf over alot (NOT an issue i care to discuss), says no AC below 70F, and takes my garage privelage away because i dont use it. (again these are not relaly the issues i want to discuss.)

so the legal question is, can he even tell me that these changes will take place within 10 days and not give me a chance to negotiate, and not even move out if i wanted to? If i gave him 30 day notice, i would be forced to pay the increased rent for 20 some odd days and live with his bull shit rules?

other questions you guys may have... i live month to month. i pay month to month. we don't actually have a bilatterally signed lease agreement, when i moved in he gave me a copy, but i never signed it and he never even asked for it again (YES MY MISTAKE). so really, on record i guess i dont live here, but i think there is some kind of law or something that shows that if i paid on time month to month rent for the last 4 months, theres some kind of agreement there (whether on paper or not).

im sorry if this is 10000% confusing.

 

[Ns1]

no, if you give him 30 day notice you live with your current lease terms until you GTFO

 

[RbSX]

There's no such thing as non negotiable, if you have a lease, that's the lease, he can't force changes on you.

This guy sounds like a real shithead.

 

[apac]

we don't actually have a bilatterally signed lease agreement

He can do anything he wants. It's a douchebag move, but he's within his legal rights to do so.

That said, you are also within your legal rights to not pay him a dime in rent because you haven't signed anything. That's his problem, not yours.

 

[waggy]

he can change it if he wants but has to give you 30 days to move and NO you don't pay a pro-rated amount on the 20 days.

but check local laws. they very from area to area.

 

[waggy]

He can do anything he wants. It's a douchebag move, but he's within his legal rights to do so.

That said, you are also within your legal rights to not pay him a dime in rent because you haven't signed anything. That's his problem, not yours.

very bad advice. just because you don't have a signed lease does not mean you don't have a lease. if not signed its thought to be a month-to-month lease. you still need to pay.

 

[gorcorps]

There's no such thing as non negotiable, if you have a lease, that's the lease, he can't force changes on you.

This guy sounds like a real shithead.

Re-read the OP... he says he's living month-to-month with no signed agreement. The guy can change what he wants without breaking contract, as there isn't one.

 

[apac]

he can change it if he wants but has to give you 30 days to move and NO you don't pay a pro-rated amount on the 20 days.

but check local laws. they very from area to area.

The OP hasn't signed anything, he isn't even a legal tenant.

 

[gorcorps]

He can do anything he wants. It's a douchebag move, but he's within his legal rights to do so.

That said, you are also within your legal rights to not pay him a dime in rent because you haven't signed anything. That's his problem, not yours.

If that's the case then the OP could be arrested, or at least ticketed, for trespassing as he no longer is a paying resident and the one who DOES live there can make the complaint. Awful, terrible idea you have here.

 

[apac]

very bad advice. just because you don't have a signed lease does not mean you don't have a lease. if not signed its thought to be a month-to-month lease. you still need to pay.

How exactly does that work? I thought you had to have a signed lease to rent at all.

 

[waggy]

The OP hasn't signed anything, he isn't even a legal tenant.

so? all he or the landlord has to do is show proof the lived there. easy enough.

with no signed lease you are considered to be on a month-to-month "lease". now what that can be legally depends on local. some have it that even if you do not give a 30 day notice you can get sued for the 1 month. Same if the landlord does not give you a month.

in this case if he does not like the new terms he can give his 30 days and move. no he does not have to pay the new amount for 1 month (or 20 days) but he still needs to pay the time he lives in the apartment.

telling him to NOT pay is bad advice.


Only real issue could be is does the "landlord" have a lagal right to sub-lease the apartment and is the apartment legal?

 

[Ns1]

If that's the case then the OP could be arrested, or at least ticketed, for trespassing as he no longer is a paying resident and the one who DOES live there can make the complaint. Awful, terrible idea you have here.

eviction laws are VERY specific, so this may or may not be terrible advice.

 

[apac]

so? all he or the landlord has to do is show proof the lived there. easy enough.

with no signed lease you are considered to be on a month-to-month "lease". now what that can be legally depends on local. some have it that even if you do not give a 30 day notice you can get sued for the 1 month. Same if the landlord does not give you a month.

in this case if he does not like the new terms he can give his 30 days and move. no he does not have to pay the new amount for 1 month (or 20 days) but he still needs to pay the time he lives in the apartment.

telling him to NOT pay is bad advice.


Only real issue could be is does the "landlord" have a lagal right to sub-lease the apartment and is the apartment legal?

Interesting, learned something new today. I've always had leases, which I thought were required for any kind of rental, even month-to-month.

My above comments were for someone living as an illegal tenant. In that case, it doesn't really matter what you do cause the landlord can kick you out at any time, so why bother paying .

 

[Meghan54]

I'm curious if the renter of the house, not the OP, has the authority to sublease rooms out. Most leases prohibit such activity without express approval.

Just curious.

 

[Kanalua]

It's a douchebag move, but he's got you by the balls. I know he says non-negotiable, but you could still try talking to him. If you don't like your living situation and it's not worth living there under the new rules, just move, no need for 30 day notice, you are not even a legal tenant!

Not paying him could lead to all your crap ending up in a dumpster or on the sidewalk. Not legal, but not worth the fight.

 

[Crusty]

Terrible situation, MTFO and don't bother with it.

 

[rockyct]

Terrible situation, MTFO and don't bother with it.

Yeah, tell him you'll be gone in 30 days and continue paying him the rate you've been paying now. If he's going to do this now, he's going to try it again later.

 

[overclocking101]

even if you do have a lease the "landlord" can change whatever whenever thats the pro of being a landlord, he could double the rent if he wated to. you either got to give him your 30 days or deal with it. but if you give him your 30 days you have already paid this month with 10 days left, next month oyou will only need to pay 20 days worth or 66% of his "new" amount

 

[apac]

I looked into this a little more. These are the rules in my state (colorado)

A tenant may give written notice of intent to terminate by mailing or hand delivering a copy to the landlord. To terminate a month-to-month lease, written notice of intent to terminate must be given at least ten days before the last day of the rental month which has already been paid, that is, eleven days prior to the next rental payment due date. In a written lease for example, start from the day when the rent is due then count back 10 days.

So basically, without an explicit lease you can just move the hell out with 10 days notice.

 

[ajtyeh]

i live in los angeles county, california. I also know the landlord (he's come over many times to fix the place) He is 100% okay with the sub-leases. i pay my roommate, and he pays the landlord every month.

so then can i move out in 10 days (these 10 days have been paid for) or should i stay there until the 20th of next month and not pay the new rate?

 

[waggy]

I looked into this a little more. These are the rules in my state (colorado)



So basically, without an explicit lease you can just move the hell out with 10 days notice.

yeah it really depends on local laws. some are renter friendly and some are landlord friendly.

 

[Genx87]

I'd look into how many days are required to be given the lease terms are changing. 10 days imo sounds a little low. I would imagine even on a month to month you are required to give a min of 30 days notice. Meaning Aug 1st is when the new changes go into effect. And if you decide to move I would look into if you are required to pay the new lease rate. Him giving you 10 days notice just seems awfully short.

 

[apac]

I'd look into how many days are required to be given the lease terms are changing. 10 days imo sounds a little low. I would imagine even on a month to month you are required to give a min of 30 days notice. Meaning Aug 1st is when the new changes go into effect. And if you decide to move I would look into if you are required to pay the new lease rate. Him giving you 10 days notice just seems awfully short.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/legal_guides/lt-2.shtml

How much advance notice must the landlord give the tenant?

If you have a month-to-month (or shorter) periodic rental agreement, the landlord must give you at least 30 days’ advance written notice of a rent increase.

* The landlord must give you at least 30 days’ advance notice if the rent increase is 10 percent (or less) of the rent charged at any time during the 12 months before the rent increase takes effect.
* The landlord must give you at least 60 days’ advance notice if the rent increase is greater than 10 percent of the rent charged at any time during the 12 months before the rent increase takes effect. 2

<snip>

Alternately, the landlord may mail the notice to you, with proper postage and addressed to you at the rental unit. If the landlord mails the notice, he or she must give you an additional five days’ notice. That means the landlord would have to give you 35 days’ notice from the date of mailing if the rent increase is 10 percent or less. If it is more than 10 percent, 65 days’ notice is required.4

Tell the landlord you're out in 30 days and will be paying through July 20th at the previously agreed rate. If he says you have to pay for July, tell him to go pound sand.

 

[Ns1]

1. Creation of Tenancy, Rents and Rental Agreements

The following applies to California residential lease and rental agreements only, but not to agreements for transient accommodations such as hotels and motels.

A tenancy is created by the rental agreement. The rental agreement may be either oral or in writing express or implied, for a fixed term or on a periodic basis, such as month to month or week to week. If for a fixed term of more than one year, the lease must be in writing.


A landlord may not evict a tenant for breach of a lease provision other than failure to pay rent unless the provision breached is in a writing signed by the tenant. Therefore, if there are any restrictions, such as a no pet clause, no subletting, late charges, etc., these should be in a writing signed by the tenant.

The term of the rental agreement is presumed to be month to month, and you must specify a different term in your agreement (written or oral), if it is to be otherwise {Civil Code Sec. 1943}.

Notices increasing rent are now a special case. All notices of rent increase may now be served by first class mail in addition to the ways mentioned in the previous paragraph, but if served this way, the notice period is extended by five days beyond the time frames given below. If the notice results in an increase of 10&#37; or less cumulatively for the previous 12 months, then the notice period is 30 days. If the notice results in an increase of more than 10% cumulatively over the previous 12 months, then the notice period is sixty days. {Civil Code Sec. 827}

Many rental agreements are on a month to month basis, with no specified termination date. In this case, either party may terminate the tenancy, at will, by giving a thirty day notice terminating tenancy to the other party {Civil Code Section 1946}. If you live in a rent control city be sure to find out if your local rent control ordinance prohibits or restricts this right.

http://www.landlord.com/lawresoverview.htm

I'm not gonna c/p it, but there's PARAGRAPHS that explain eviction requirements


the amazing power of google.

 

[apac]

In before NS1