Q: What are my rights when I'm given entry into a dwelling from a person authorized to be there given the key?
I have messages to prove that he was offering me a place to live as well as wanting to collect first months rent to make repairs, now the homeowner wants me out.
A: The exact details are crucial here. IF you have formed a legal and valid tenancy, then you are entitled to all the rights of any tenant. If, for any reason, the landlord subsequently wants you gone, they must go through all the required hoops of providing you lawful Notice and the appropriate amount of time before they can terminate your tenancy. If, after the required notice period, you still have not left, then they must go to court to try to have you evicted and you would then have your chance to legally defend yourself. IF however, no legal tenancy has actually been created but rather only discussed but not fully finalized, then a potential landlord can likely back out of the deal, not rent to you, and deny you rights to move in. All this can sometimes be a hard call, depending upon the exact details. The only way for you to really know much is to review everything with a local landlord-tenant attorney to learn your rights and obligations. Best of luck.
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