Q: Have lease, expires May 2025. Landlord wants to sell and has ordered to vacate. Do they have to financial compensate. UT
Landlord won't respond and has ordered to vacate in a week. Causing duress and worry as this would put me homeless with 2 dogs. Wants to sell but have a lease till 2025. What recourse do I have? I know she must honor the lease but it's a form of harassment as she keeps calling and leaving messages. I respond only through email. Does a landlord have to make a tenant whole if they want them to vacate? Meaning financially.
A:
In Utah, if you have a valid lease that doesn't expire until May 2025, your landlord generally cannot force you to vacate the property before the lease ends, even if they want to sell the property. The lease is a legally binding contract, and the landlord must honor it.
However, there are a few exceptions:
1. If your lease includes an early termination clause that allows the landlord to end the lease early in case of a sale, they may be able to invoke that clause.
2. If you've violated the terms of the lease, the landlord may have grounds to evict you.
Assuming neither of these applies, your landlord's actions could be considered harassment. You should send a written request to your landlord to stop contacting you about vacating the property before your lease ends.
Regarding compensation, the landlord is not automatically required to provide financial compensation for you to vacate early. However, you could try to negotiate a "cash for keys" agreement, where the landlord offers you money to agree to terminate your lease early. This is a voluntary agreement, and you're not obligated to accept.
If your landlord continues to harass you or attempts to illegally evict you, you can:
1. File a complaint with the Utah Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
2. Seek legal advice from a local tenant rights organization or a private attorney specializing in landlord-tenant law.
3. If the landlord's actions are extreme, you might be able to file a lawsuit for damages related to the harassment.
Remember to keep detailed records of all communications with your landlord and any incidents of harassment.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
