Q: I'm subleasing through my roommate- is it legal for him to withhold landlord contact information?
I have contacted the actual landlord by googling the property, getting her name through portlandmaps.com, calling her work number and have been in contact that way. She is aware that I am subleasing.
The issue is that my housemate/acting landlord wants to terminate my lease without cause. He wants to use my deposit to clean the rugs. When I explained chapter 90.300, He has also acted in a retalitory way saying that I can't file small claims, and if I do, I will lose. My housemate/landlord is a liar and stated that the property owner doesn't want me to part my car in the drive way. I have verified with her that she did not make this request. Should I seek legal action?
A: Understand that IF you are subletting from your roommate, then he is indeed - for all purposes - your landlord and it really does not matter if the master landlord cares where you park the car. Do you have a written rental agreement with the roommate? You sound as if you are familiar with ORS 90.300 and the requirements for a landlord to be able to charge you for carpet cleaning. In your sort of situation, even IF the rental agreement provides for it (did he really have them professionally cleaned before you moved in?), at most it would seem that you should be liable for your private room and perhaps half of the common areas (assuming there is only 2 of you). Of course you can file in small claims court; whether you can win depends upon the exact details. If he is giving you a no-cause termination notice, you must be on a month to month tenancy; the notice must contain all the legally required information; it must have been lawfully served; and it must provide you at least 90 days advanced notice if you are within the city limits of Portland. If within the Portland city limits, he may also be liable for relocation assistance payments to you as well. All in all, you may want to review everything with a local landlord-tenant attorney before going too much further to determine your exact rights and obligations. Best of luck.
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