Renter Never Moved In
If I rented my apartment to someone and they sent me first month’s rent, but said they were in the process of reviewing the lease, and they then decide 2 days after the agreed lease start date that they don’t want to move in, can I keep the first month’s rent payment since I now…
If I rented my apartment to someone and they sent me first month’s rent, but said they were in the process of reviewing the lease, and they then decide 2 days after the agreed lease start date that they don’t want to move in, can I keep the first month’s rent payment since I now will loose an entire month’s rent while searching for another tenant?
go to your bank and get a letter from them that the funds are cleared and final before you issue refunds. even after clearing a check, banks can reverse out and debit your money. Be careful!
If they wanted to study the lease, they must not have agreed to it. So it sounds like they sent you money but never committed to the rental. They could have given you a verbal commitment which would be worth something. But from limited info it sounds like you never had a deal, just a check.
Was there any discussion of that check, and whether it was a deposit to hold the apartment from other possible renters? That might allow you to keep it/part of it as consideration for holding the apartment off the market.
How bizarre. Did they sign the lease?
Slopefarm is right. I certainly would not return the rent check until you have know how much of the month you are able to mitigate by locating a new tenant.
Also, I don’t think you need a written lease unless it is a DHCR regulated apartment (rent stab or rent control or similar) or if it is over one year. Lack of a written lease is a bad idea, but I don’t think that mean there is no agreement. Rather, you should tell them that as they are breaking the lease, you will make reasonable efforts to locate an acceptable tenant for the remainder of the tenancy but they remain responsible for the rent.
Wait, was this for June 1 or July 1? This is not legal advcie and L&T isn’t my area, but if they sent you rent for June 1 and you held the apartment for them on that basis, I would not be so quick to return it. Did they also give you a deposit or is this the only money they sent you? If it is for July 1, much harder case for keeping it because you have plenty of time to rent it out.
But even if this is for June 1, you might list now for June 15, which, if successful, would reduce the problem and allow you to return half without being out of pocket.
How long did they have to study the lease before the move-in date?
What DIBS Said – No Signes Lease = No Binding Contract.
Return their Check if you havent cashed it already. If you have cashed it (Or Deposited It) Wait 2 weeks to issue a refund even if the funds cleared your bank already.
If they signed the lease, keep the money. If you didn’t have a signed lease this close to the start date that you wanted, that’s just poor judgement.
What ever you do hold the check for a while before issuing any refunds even if it certified or a cashier check. Make sure your bank verifies it before you write any check back. There are allot of rental scams. Click on the link below.
http://rentalscams.org/category/known-rental-scammers/