Q: Apt fire. Uninhabitable. Homeless/displaeced,no renter's ins.Lessor fault. Sec/dep back?lease obligation? Refer,letter?
Family of four one disabled child .Couchsurfing. Lost everything. landlord / maintenance lady giving nothing but a hassle. Texting constantly wanting us to sign a piece of paper, if we don't they're going to start an eviction notice on us. We don't live there we need help.
This happened Valentine's Day. We would like our security deposit back, our last month's rent back, and not be responsible for our lease that's up in October. How do we accomplish this?
A: Do you have a copy of your lease, or can you get a copy of a similar lease from another tenant? Most leases explain what happens if the residence becomes uninhabitable due to fire or other cause. If you have the lease, it will answer your question. No opinion on the paper they want you to sign, since I haven't read it. If the place burned due to the landlord's fault, they'll have a hard time proving you caused damage justifying keeping the security deposit. If the fire was literally the landlord's fault, consider talking to an attorney about pursuing the landlord for the value of your possessions destroyed in the fire -- although most leases warn tenants they need to have their own insurance policy to cover their own possessions.
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