Sub-Leasing Apartment. What rules apply if any?

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duelingbass

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I am sure that most of this question has probably already been answered in one form or another, but plz if i may would you please assist me in this pickle i have gotten myself into. We found a good deal on an apartment thru a website that handles local business, a sort of e-commerce but scaled down to your local market. Not sure if i can mention the name or not, but it was craig's list. Well we found a person wanting to sublet his apartment because he and his wife had just bought a home. Not wanting to pay the reletting fee, they offered a substantial discount to move in, as a matter of fact, here is what the original email conversations between the soon to be landlord and tennant entailed:
(names and contact info replaced for obvious reasons)


Original Post--
01/07/06

$750 / 2br - 2br/2ba Moving out but have Lease until April 30th


We have a 2br/2ba apartment that we are looking to sublet for $750.00 a month. We currently pay $860.00, but are willing to p/u the little extra for anyone willing to ride out the rest of our lease until April 30th. Anyone renting the apartment will have the option to renew the lease at the end of April. The apartment is roughly 1100 sq ft. and also comes w/ 2 covered parking spots at $20.00 per space , but we are waiving that for anyone wanting to sublease. We are moving out of the apartment on 1/10 and amd would like to get someone new in as soon as possible after we have it thorougly cleaned. This was previously listed and we have had to re-list is as we have not been able to get ahold of them for the past couple of days. Dont let this one pass you up!





Sat Jan 7th 2006


Good Evening Tennant,

I am going to try to answer all your questions, but if i missed any let me know. Our email is always on so we will get back to you really soon. Anyway, the apartment is a 1st floor apartment. We are currently going to charge $750.00, but at the end of April the new lease and amount will be up to you guys and management. We were asking a $250.00 deposit (completely 100% refundable at the end of the lease) but the management office has notified us that anyone willing to sublease would first need to fill out an application w/ them first. The AP In light of this new information, we have decided to eat tge $50.00 and make the deposit $200.00. Januararys rent would be prorated minus $100.00 for helping us move out in such short notice. For example. if you move in on 1/15/06 rent would be pre-rated at 6/ minus 100.00 = $287.00. So the total move in and rent for January would be 487.00. (200.00 refundable @ the end of April.) This is an incredible deal. The only reason we are so desperate is, we are closing on our house on monday and dont want to pay rent and mortgage.

Call me @ (phone number)
or (phone number)

Thanks

Landlord.
___________________________________________________________________________

We have all of this in email format so techinally in writing, but nothing standardized via a TAA lease agreement. When we moved in we spent $500.00 in cleaning supplies and equipment to clean the place, as it was not "thorougly cleaned" as he said it would be. They had a dog and dog hair was coming up in large amounts out of the carpet , I swear i thought they had a sheep in here...He did knock off some of the rent in the tune of $200.00 for that fiasco. The actual questions start here.


In March, 2006 the land lord advize the tennant that an additional payment of $178.00 to the apartment complex due to an unpaid electric bill duing our short stay thus far. He accused me of switching the electric into my name for 1 day then moving it back to the complex for them to pay. As i recall the facts. the most logical reason is that we applied for electric and the initial move to the new company was successfull, but for whatever reason, they did not continue to provide service more than likely due to an additional deposit required or information needed to process the account. I was unaware of the issue at the time, untill the apartment complex turned off my electricity. Then they removed our reserved parking spots, w/ out notice. My original suspicions were that the land lord decided to compensate some of the amount he was having to pay in difference by saving the additional $40 per reserved spot. Thats what i suspected... but unable to provide any proof other than the reason that he gave me was completely absurd. He said that when the apartment complex realized they had the bill, they removed the pre-paid spots to salvage any sort of payment on the electric bill. i find this a highly unlikely story as thru the next month the spots were still not re-rented or reserved out. This was all come to a head when he then asked me to pay him the money and would not show me proof that such bill existed.


On April 3rd, 2006

The land lord had been at my place of employment to collect the rent money the last friday in march, and i didnt have it w/ me. besides it wasnt technically due, absolutley due untill the 3rd at the very latest. He took it upon himself to drive to my place of employment and wait outside in the parking lot next to my vehicle, and he was determined to get the rent money right then and there. I didnt have it right then and there and explained to him that i was at work... and didnt have the funds w/ me there. He left in a rage and said that i had better have it next time i saw him...I made arrangements to meet him the following monday to pay him. That monday he had arrived earlier than I, and the whole time, even w/ the car not in the drive way, he had been pounding on the door so hard that he actually cracked the door jam where the deadbolts lock in place and knocked the inner door molding inwards and out of place. I didnt realize this at the time, but not that i could have actually because we had spoken earlier that day and agreed that i would be out a week early to convience him. I told him that i wasnt going to pay for the parking spots which was included up to that point in the rent, and i also told him that he would have to deduct the amount for the parking spots for the previous month in which we had also payed for them. He agreed to do so and deducted this from the rent and then prorated the rent for 30 days in april, and my dues where 22 days worth. He demanded that pay the electric again and i explained to him that w/o a bill i was reluctant to just hand him more money. He told me that one day i would mess w/ the wrong person and I would be sorry, then he ran to the front door and refused to let me inside. He said that i had no legal documents that proved that i was sub-leasing from him, and that this was his apartment and i was not allowed in there again. I then asked him if this was really how he wanted to handle the situation, and he remained solid. I proceeded to get back into my car and call the dallas police dept. When they arrived, there was little they could do but prevent a civil issue from becoming criminal, but did pointblank ask him if i was subleasing and the second he said yes, they advized him that what he was doing was civil, it was not in accordance to code, and in order to not allow me in he would have file an evicition on me, but even that could take up to a month to process. The officers politely asked him to remove himself from inbetween the door and myself, and i was allowed to enter my dweling. He asked me when i would have the money and just because i didnt really know, i told him that maybe on the 15th we could work something out.

Well here we are, the 16th of april and the landlord strikes again. I had to call the police again today because i felt my fiance was endangered by this guy as he almost beat in my door from the the constant slams on the front door, which i am to assume that those were to be interpertted as him knocking on the front door. He caused serious dammage to the door, so much that i have had to put in lag screws to hold the molding in place so that i can lock the door. even at this point, it wouldnt take much to knock the door wide open, deadbolt'ed or not.

I was finally provided w/ a copy of the alledged electric bill, and it is for 178.00, but it is from 2 months ago, so i dont know how entierly accurate it is, but assuming that it is accurate, i am obviously indebted to the Apartment complex correct? not the land lord? or am i mistaken on this assumption...? Also, along w/ the copy of the bill, the land lord enclosed a letter that states this,"

April 17, 2006

Dear Tennant and Tennant,


Today is 17th day of April, 2006.

You have not payed all of rent due. I demand possesion of my rental property. This is a notice that you must vacate the property by noon or I will file an eviction suit w/ the Dallas County Justice of the Peace Court.



-Name-
(Landlord)
(IN HANDWRITING HE ADDED THE FOLLOWING)

all keys and gate remotes (2)
2 door keys
2 FOB keys for mail room
2 gate remotes

If these are not returned to Apartments, a $50.00 per key charge will be charged, per Apartments, and will be added to the lawsuit.


((((continued on next thread... ))))))
 
Continued from above.....

Is this really an eviction notice? by the time it goes to court, i will have been long gone out of this place, and does it hold any weight? He seems the type of person that will ruin u just to ruin you, so what does he have to prove or what does he have to do to sway a judge in his favor? This has been the worst expierience of my life and i dont recommend that anyone sub-lease, as you can tell from my issues, they can turn out badly. I understand this is a civil issue, but he calls me at work and threatens me that if i dont pay up he will get it one way or another... and he is now telling me that i have to be out by noon tommorrow? I have a paper that he typed up outling the agreement to be paid in april. which was the 22 days worth of prorated rent. He also told the police that night that he was sub-letting the apartmnet to me, and he did sublease it from him, even tho no paperwork ever was signed, it was an oral agreement persay. He also advized the police that i did infact pay the $500 or so in cash, but i have no other proof of paymet aside from the 2 officers that were witness to his statements. What am i to expect, and how far can he push this? I am afraid that he may just take it upon himself to tear the door down, or just go to the apartment administration and get a key and take my things... i am really worried and i dont know what the right re-course was to do. I called the non emergency # for the police, but again, civil matter, they said to call a lawyer. I need more info than this if you know of any, what he can and cant do, what the letter of the law states, and is it different because there is no lease agreement, only emails and conversations, or do those bind like contracts? Can he just enter the dwelling w/o my consent?


Please someone help if can...

thank you


Kinda worried in Big D...
 
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