Q: Landlord entered escrow on house we just moved into on a 1 yr lease. Buyer wants property vacant at close. Compensation?
Hi there and thank you for reading. So two days after my wife and I signed a 1 year lease, my landlord informed me that he just went into escrow on the property my family and I just moved into and the buyer wants the home vacant when escrow closes. Now I'm pretty sure my 1 year lease agreement still stands should the house sell...but should we be willing to move out in 45days per the Landlord's request, any advice on negotiating the early termination of our agreement? What realistic financial compensation should I ask for considering the inconvenience, time and energy it takes to find a place, stress and moving expenses that will incur? The rent is $2300 a month and we are 9 days into our 1 year lease. It also took about two months to find this place and now we are stuck in limbo...living in an unpacked house due to this circumstance. By the way our home is in California.
Thank you in advance.
A:
All your rights should be spelled out in your lease. If the lease calls for an early termination, there must be a cause. Generally, a person should get a minimum of sixty -days notice to vacate. However, if this is coming as a surprise to you, you do not have to move.
In some cases, but not all of them, If your rent is $2,300.00 and you can find another place higher than your rent within the sixty days, then tell your landlord to make up the difference plus pay you for your moving expenses and some monies for the inconvenience of breaching your lease and kicking you out from your residence. Others also, ask their landlord to provide them with the address of the new landlord and then go to the nearest courthouse and file a Notice of Leasehold on the property. This would give Notice to any prospective buyer that there is someone living at the house and he may have to negotiate with you. Prompt filing is important or the Title Company will miss it in their last review and then at litigation the new landlord will claim he had no notice of your leasehold. If the escrow has closed, then it may be possible to look at the deed transfer documents and find the address of the new title and the title company and let them know that there is a Tenant in the property. Most of the time they already know that but it is ignored anyways.
However, it is important, not to move out move until the new buyer or the landlord offers moneys for keys, the Court tells you to go or you find a new place. You can fight this in court and just as the landlord is protected when you leave all of the sudden, so should you be protected as well.
Finally, this is general advice and it is not intended to replace the advice of a lawyer looking at your documents and reading all the documents before he/she gives you a legal opinion based on actual facts and law. Reach out for a lawyer near you when the Landlord files a Notice to move. Sometimes, you can negotiate with the new Landlord but if they intend to move in, they may have laws protecting them if they intend to move in. Talk to your lawyer and ask him to expand in all these possibilities. Best of luck
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