Lease Amendment Question!

[cxtc]

I am a currently a tenant renting a condo. My lease agreement will not expire until Oct 1st 2008; however, the landlord has now sold the condo that I am living in so I was wondering if I could ignore the contract with the previous owner and negotiate a new contract with the new owner? I am seeking a rolling month to month contract since I am actively seeking to buy a house in the coming months; therefore, I do not want to get myself tied down to another 1 year term lease agreement. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank You all.
Best regards,
cxtc

 

[Observer Walt]

If you have a written lease, specifying a term, as I gather you do, it is a legally enforceable contract. I'm sure it will specify that it can be relied upon by a new owner. Look for the phrase "successors and assigns", or something similar, which will refer to the fact that the old owner may be replaced by a new owner, without voiding the contract.

You could ask the new owner if he would be willing to amend it to a month-to-month basis. There is no harm in asking, but he is not under any obligation to agree. It may make sense for him to do so if the rent you are paying is "under market" and you might be able to use that as a bit of an argument in a possible renegotiation.

 

[cxtc]

thx

Thank You. I will ask the new owners tomorrow.

 

[urbandreamer]

Just pack your bags and move--flee the place. That's what I did once and was never caught. Landlord deserved it too!

 

[wonderboy416]

Just pack your bags and move--flee the place. That's what I did once and was never caught. Landlord deserved it too!

This would probably work, the landlord could probably get someone in there in a matter of weeks, you'd still be out your "last" months cheque but it wouldn't be worth the landlords efforts to go after you.

Alternatively you can just sublet the place, post an ad on craigslist to test the waters and I'm sure you'll get plenty of candidates.

 

[Tuscani01]

This would probably work, the landlord could probably get someone in there in a matter of weeks, you'd still be out your "last" months cheque but it wouldn't be worth the landlords efforts to go after you.

Alternatively you can just sublet the place, post an ad on craigslist to test the waters and I'm sure you'll get plenty of candidates.

If its a 2 bedroom, close to Ryerson and between 1000-1800/month, ill take it!

 

[Chuck]

Just pack your bags and move--flee the place. That's what I did once and was never caught. Landlord deserved it too!

Assuming that your landlord had your personal info and SIN, you may very well have destroyed your credit rating by doing that. If so, it will be tougher for you to get a loan or a mortgage in the future, and if you do get one, your monthly payments could easily be 15-50% higher for the same loan.

Go to Equifax.com to find out.

 

[voxpopulicosmicum]

If you have a written lease, specifying a term, as I gather you do, it is a legally enforceable contract. I'm sure it will specify that it can be relied upon by a new owner. Look for the phrase "successors and assigns", or something similar, which will refer to the fact that the old owner may be replaced by a new owner, without voiding the contract.

You could ask the new owner if he would be willing to amend it to a month-to-month basis. There is no harm in asking, but he is not under any obligation to agree. It may make sense for him to do so if the rent you are paying is "under market" and you might be able to use that as a bit of an argument in a possible renegotiation.

It's not quite that simple. The lease is only enforceable between the parties who signed it ("contractual privity", if you're interested). To overcome this arcane legal hurdle, typical leases have a provision requiring the tenant to sign an "estoppel certificate" in which the tenant promises to treat the new landlord as if it were the old landlord. Without signing such a certificate, however, the new landlord wouldn't be able to sue the tenant for breaching the lease, since the new landlord isn't a party to the lease. (This won't work if the tenant in any way acknowledges the new landlord's ownership (e.g. by paying rent)).

This is kind of an academic point -- it is unlikely that the buyer will close if the seller doesn't provide an estoppel certificate signed by the tenant. But it does provide a bit of an opening.