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I live in Pennsylvania.
I've been living with my best friend and his now fiancee for the past
1.5 years. When we first moved into our first house, we all signed
the lease. We moved out of that house and moved into another place in
February 2004 but I did not sign this lease and I was never asked to
sign it. They told me they signed the lease for two years although
they never consulted me about it. That was fine with me because I
knew they would eventually get married and we would go our separate
ways. To move in, we needed to pay one month rent and a security
deposit. We paid the first month rent and my friend's mother loaned
us the security which we all agreed to pay back. I'm ready to pay my
portion of the deposit back to his mother but I have some concerns. A
week ago, I just found out, from a mutual friend, that they signed a
lease agreement with an option to purchase. Our friend was also told
to keep this a secret from me. Is there any advantage for them not
telling me they signed a lease purchase agreement that I should be
concerned about?
The only verbal agreement I made was to pay one third of the rent and
utilities and pay his mom back the security deposit. Here are my
questions. Am I obligated to stay until the end of the two year
lease? As a "friend" I'm willing to give substantial notice before
moving out but, legally, how much notice do I need to give them? My
other concern is the security deposit. If they exercise their option
to purchase the house, am I entitled to my security deposit. If so,
when? I would like to have a security deposit agreement in writing
before paying my part of the deposit. Any non legal advice on not
losing my security deposit is appreciated.
Thanks for your help in advance!
Rich
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"Rich" <brd0057@yahoo.com> wrote in misc.legal.moderated:
[living with friends; they've signed a 2-year lease with option to
purchase but Rich hasn't. One friend's mother put up the security
deposit but is not otherwise involved.]
The only verbal agreement I made was to pay one third of the rent and
utilities and pay his mom back the security deposit.
Am I obligated to stay until the end of the two year lease?
As a "friend" I'm willing to give substantial notice before
moving out but, legally, how much notice do I need to give them?
No. You don't have a lease. Since you're paying rent, you are
probably on a month-to-month tenancy. I don't know about PA, but in
most states your legal requirement is to give notice effective at
the end of the next rental period. If you pay on the first of the
month, and you give notice during June, you move out July 31 or
August 1.
My other concern is the security deposit. If they exercise their option
to purchase the house, am I entitled to my security deposit.
You are entitled to it when you move out, assuming you haven't
trashed the place. You are in effect renting from them, not their
landlord. You have no obligations to their landlord, and he has none
to you. So whether they buy or not is irrelevant to you -- that's
between them and your landlord.
If so, when?
State law governs this. In most places it's within 30 days of moving
out, and if any part is withheld then an itemized list of damages
must be given. Again, this is between your friends and you, as far
as I can see. Based on what you told us, you have no agreement with
the landlord.
I would like to have a security deposit agreement in writing
before paying my part of the deposit.
Frankly, I wouldn't. If you're planning on moving out soon anyway,
just don't pay anybody a security deposit. If you pay it to your
friends, they may not think of themselves as your landlords and may
hassle you bout getting it back. If you pay it to the landlord, you
may in effect get yourself onto the lease and be obligated to stay.
If you pay it to the mother, it can look like repayment of a loan
and you'll never get that back.
--
If you e-mail me from a fake address, your fingers will drop off.
I am not a lawyer; this is not legal advice. When you read anything
legal on the net, always verify it on your own, in light of your
particular circumstances. You may also need to consult a lawyer.
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Cortland County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
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The only verbal agreement I made was to pay one third of the rent and
utilities and pay his mom back the security deposit. Here are my
questions. Am I obligated to stay until the end of the two year
lease? As a "friend" I'm willing to give substantial notice before
moving out but, legally, how much notice do I need to give them? My
other concern is the security deposit. If they exercise their option
to purchase the house, am I entitled to my security deposit. If so,
when? I would like to have a security deposit agreement in writing
before paying my part of the deposit. Any non legal advice on not
losing my security deposit is appreciated.
I'm not sure what to tell you about the option to buy and them keeping
it secret from you, I'm not all that familiar with that area of law.
What I do know is, in most states, when a rental property is sold,
generally the new owners receive the lease and any deposit paid by the
current tenant(s).
In your case, there is no lease, so that's a nonissue. Your friends
would receive the entire security deposit as an asset that comes with
the house. Ignoring the fact that the money was borrowed, 2/3 of it
was paid by them, so 2/3 simply goes back to themselves. They are
obligated to pay the remaining 1/3 to you when you move out. Most
states require them to return the security deposit within 30 days of
your moving out.
Also, if they decide to buy the house and don't want you as a tenant
anymore, MOST states require they give you 2 months notice. Lease or
no lease, they have that obligation. But again, you need to check
your state's laws on that.
---Chris J. Disclaimer: No attorney-client relationship exists and
posting is in the matter of general legal advice only. Persons are
advised to contact their own attorney.
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