If someone agrees to a verbal subletting agreement, but no money has changed hands, is the agreement binding?
Long story short:
He moved in for three months, until rental agreement officially starts in September. He has signed the rental agreement for September onwards and paid the deposit. The guy (other renter) he is subletting from says he told the landlord that he would be subletting and landlord was okay with that. He has had no communication yet from landlord and has not yet paid anything to guy he is subletting from, nor has there been a request for money yet.
Turns out the apartment is filthy. Cockroaches, dust and hair that hasn’t been vacuumed for years, broken doors, etc… He wants to move out right now, then come back when there is a changeover of tenants. That will give the landlord time to fix things, do pest control and get it properly cleaned.
Is he on the hook for the money, given the condition of the apartment? Is there anything he should do to bolster his stance? Any good websites to consult? Advice appreciated.
Agreements regarding real estate need to be in writing to be enforceable. Your S has no contract with the current tenant. He is free to leave the apartment and return when his lease term begins.
I would have your son take pictures. I can’t seen that a verbal agreement is binding, unless it was recorded, but the person your son is subletting from could start to talk about your son not living up to agreements. If it’s as bas as you say, and he has photo proof, I think anyone would be understanding as to why he backed out. Sounds gross!
Morally he is on the hook, but as a landlord who is not a lawyer, I would say he is not on the hook legally.
I would simply be very honest with the tenants. He should nicely state he had no idea how filthy the place was, that it has pests, and he cannot live in those conditions. Tell the tenants he would either like to postpone his move-in until the situation changes and the place is sprayed, or not move in at all.
The tenants will be upset (in a sad way more than an angry way) but I think it be okay. If these are guys who really need the financial support of an additional roommate, I might try to give 1/2 of the first month or whatever I could afford. But I would not feel obligated to move in.
However, I will emphasize what you already know. This could have been avoided if you son had simply checked out the place before making the agreement. He’s learned a valuable lesson here. Hopefully it works out where neither he nor the tenants suffer from this mistake.
Thanks for this. He actually visited the apartment before he moved in, but, of course, a casual look-see can be misleading. He saw the cockroach the first night, then in the morning, realized how dirty stuff was, and now he’s just repulsed. He says he can’t stay there right now. He actually wants to break the lease entirely, but a good friend is also signed up to move in in September too. So that complicates things.
It doesn’t impact the landlord because the subletting original tenant is still liable for his portion of the rent thru the end of the lease term. The landlord gets paid either way.
Is your son moving w/ the current tenants in September?
If he wants to break the lease he should discuss it with his friend and, if the friend wants out too, the landlord. The landlord has ample time to find a new tenant if the discussions happen now. Or perhaps your son can negotiate some concessions or assurances from the landlord that the property will be cleaned up and fumigated before your son moves in.
It’s not the landlord’s responsibility to clean up after tenants. I’m sure the unit was clean when the tenants moved in. A dirty unit with the remains of past meals lying around will attract pests. The problem was created by the current tenants. If the landlord has to address the situation either mid-lease or at the end of the lease, i would expect the landlord to charge the tenants for the expense. Unless the tenants can prove the unit was in that filthy condition and pest infested before they moved in.
It’s a four person apartment, currently with three tenants and the one who just moved out, SV, the subletter. Son’s friend, RL, is a current tenant.
RL is the friend who told him about SV’s sublet. Original Tenants 1 and 2 for last four years leave in September. RL will remain, and a friend of his, PT, will move in in September.
Son will move in with a friend, KM. All four have signed leases and paid deposits for Sept. Son is friends with both KM and RL. There are two friends involved here, which does make it emotionally complicated.
Son is now a bit concerned about RL’s cleanliness, but he thinks that RL may have been overwhelmed by mess and turned a blind eye because it was easier. Son is a bit concerned about damaging the relationship with RL, but he can’t live in the current conditions.
Son’s most recent apartment includes a cleaning service. I think it was a one off mid-lease thing. And he did see a cockroach, but he called landlord who immediately sorted it out.
Would it be possible for existing tenants (including the one from whom your son is subletting) to pay for a cleaning service? Might be worth it to avoid damage to relationships etc. Plus sounds like they may need to do that anyway for September hand off. Four people splitting it might not be so bad. Maybe $50-75 each? Landlord needs to have pest control come, too.
Oh sorry I didn’t mean to imply that. The tenants have to clean up before they go and the landlord can use the security deposit to pay for any damage, cleaning and so forth. But the landlord has to give the property to the new tenants in good condition, free of pests etc…. There’s always some work required between leases and that cost of doing business should be factored into the rental amount. And pest control should be discussed if it isn’t already addressed in the lease.
It’s a problem when friends just keep passing the lease from group to group. My daughter did this with her lacrosse team and she was in the second group to move in, with 2 girls remaining and just daughter moving in. Then the next year daughter and one other stayed and a new one moved in. When they all graduated, the next group moved in, all done through the landlord but no one ever moved out until the next group moved in. Some furniture stayed. Daughter stored her stuff there for the summer even after her lease expired.
No problem with bugs or cleaning, but the landlord never really came by to inspect for a ‘turnover’.
I think you should have a talk with the landlord about doing a total clean and move in inspection for Aug/Sept. Your son should take MANY pictures of the condition when he moves in. Damage that was done years ago could come out of his deposit a year from now.
I don’t think he owes anything to the subletter. Tell the subletter that the place is filthy and if it isn’t cleaned he’s not moving in. Maybe the landlord would take the subletter’s deposit (and that of the others) and put the money into cleaning now rather than September?
My nephew and his friends had something like a $7000 deposit, and there was no way they’d even get 1/2 of that back (cleaning fee, re-keying fee, fee for this, fee for that) but they could get about 1/2 back if property left clean and undamaged.
IMO, definitely! However, that’s something that he should have mentioned after he saw the place before. I’m not harping on that, just bringing it up because I’m sure the current tenants might at least mention it in passing. Still, if I was him, I’d back out of the deal if there are roaches.
Bottom line for me is, there is no written lease and the unit is filthy. That’s enough for me.