Q: Can I be sued if I have not signed a lease, and have decided to go elsewhere?
We have been emailing back and forth with a landlord about a lease. We have been negotiating length of term and said that we would look over the lease and turn it in. The guy didn't get back to us right away, so we decided to tour another place. We ended up liking this other place more, so we told the guy that we were no longer interested.
He is now saying that he is going to sue us because we have an "enforceable agreement" and that our email communications are good enough for us to be bound to the lease, although each email ended with -Nick.
He is also saying that signing the actual lease itself is a ministerial act and not necessary to enforce the lease.
A: An exchange of emails could establish a valid contract, but a court would have to decide a legally enforceable agreement exists based on the contents of those emails. Use the Find a Lawyer tab to retain a local attorney if the landlord persists.
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