Q: How does a verbal agreement hold in court over rental property.
Landlord agreed to rent a property to me. Said he would draw up a lease in the next couple days. Asked me to go ahead and switch over electric and gas and set up po box. I did so. The next day he backed out. What are my rights here. I had to pay deposit for gas and electric. And a termination fee when I canceled the next day. My mail is also stuck in a loop.
A: That's kind of a mess. A verbal lease is at most month to month, and can be terminated by either party at the end of a month by giving 30 days written notice. But if you don't even have occupancy yet, then there wouldn't be an eviction. You could sue to get in, but then the landlord could immediately give the 30 day termination notice. You could sue landlord in small claims court for breach of contract and ask for the amount of money you lost in paying deposits. Try to work it out with landlord.
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