Portland, OR asked in Landlord - Tenant for Oregon

Q: Landlord's lawyer constantly demanding records, landlord hasn't instructed me to talk to lawyer no lease.

We moved in with the understanding "Rick" is our landlord. After living here a year, Rick's brother "Jim" and Jim's wife "Stacy" started playing the role of landlords too. Then Jim and Stacy's lawyer also begins emailing me constantly demanding our out of pocket records. Then we find out on our own that the legal owner of the property is an LLC of which Stacy is a member, along with another LLC that Jim is manager of and their lawyer is the registered agent. Rick, Jim, nor Stacy have ever instructed us to communicate with their attorney. In fact, none of them ever mentioned anything about an LLC, Rick never said "hey my brother and his wife are the actual landlords." There is no written agreement despite asking for one every time I've communicated with any of them. My two questions are: 1. am I required to respond to the attorney? 2. What could they possibly gain by refusing to provide a written agreement? (In Oregon.)

Related Topics:
1 Lawyer Answer

A: You ignore an attorney at your own peril and they could be risking the loss of their law license if they told you that they represent someone when they don't. Without a written lease, you have to be on a month to month tenancy. So if you have been there less than a year, and are not within the Portland city limits, you likely can have your tenancy terminated with 30 days written notice. Failure to cooperate with their attorney might anger them enough to terminate you. Or not. This all said, at a minimum you can insist on some sort of direct authorization or request from the landlord acknowledging you should talk with their attorney. I'm unclear what sort of records are being requested so can't comment on whether that is lawful. Verbal leases are legal in Oregon (except in Portland) and a written one is at the landlord's discretion. That said, there are lots of good reasons to have one, both for the landlord and the tenant. If a dispute arises, how is either side going to prove what the agreement was? Verbal leases, while legal, are potentially a nightmare for all concerned. Did you pay rent to Rick? If so, all of them and the LLC may be your landlord and be accountable to you. Does Rick (or any of them) share the living space? In re-reading your post, I see you have been there more than a year, so your protection from termination is much stronger. They likely can only terminate you now for cause (lease violation) or, if without legal cause, for a specific permitted reason which are very few. If you have been there more than a year, then I would question what information the attorney wants and why. Depending upon what info is sought, you may or might not have to comply. Consider reviewing everything with a local landlord-tenant attorney. Good luck.

Justia Ask A Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get free 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 Justia and you, or between any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions and you, 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.