Q: Hello! I recently moved out of an apartment in woodhaven, 1 year prior to the official lease ending.
I received a verbal go ahead from the landlord. I signed my new lease to my new home on December 24th, however today I received a letter from a law office representing my previous landlord stating “you have, without permission of your landlord sublet/ and or assigned your rights of occupancy to another or others” the person who may still reside in the apartment has no written agreements or payment history with me and is a squatter. I am seeking a free consultation to see if and how I should proceed so that I am not monetarily responsible for any issues caused by the squatter residing at the residence. I hope to have a free consultation to seek advice and possible retain someone as my attorney if necessary.
A: Based on what you have described, we do not have enough information to answer this in full. But if you have left some occupant in the apartment who was not paying rent to anyone, you may still be liable for the rent, depending on what the facts. However if the occupant that you left in the apartment has been paying rent in his name you may have a defense that the landlord has acquiesced to his occupancy then you would not be liable. I suggest you call us or a landlord tenant attorney to fill the missing information needed to properly advise you.
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