Can a verbal agreement ever hold up in court?

[hmp333]

My 18 month lease was up at the end of Dec 06. I gave my landlord 60 days written notice with our November rent check (delivered in person, not by certified mail as specified in the lease). We decided we wanted to stay a little longer, so I spoke with our landlord and asked if we could extend the lease by 6 months, and he agreed. I asked if we needed to re-sign anything; he said no just give him new written notice. I said I'd give him 60 days notice again with the rent check and he agreed.

May 1, I delivered written notice with the rent check (again, not certified). He came over mid-June and spoke with my husband and I and told us he would return the deposit, that there was no reason to keep it. So after he assured us everything was good, we found a new place, put a deposit down, signed a lease and moved in (within the week).

Now he is saying we violated the lease (there is a clause that says the lease will renew for a similar term if on good standing and neither contacts by certified mail), so we forfeit our deposit and owe an additional month rent. We wouldn't have moved if he had said this in June, that's why we waited to put any money down on a new place. Do we have any recourse since most of this was verbal?

 

[calalily]

The purpose of certified mail is to have proof that the written notice was received. Is he denying you gave written notice? If not, he may have waived the contract requirement in the lease by accepting the written notice in person. Check out verbal contracts agreements for your state. If he agreed to your terms verbally and accepted the written notice then he altered the terms in the original contract which may have voided it. BUT google the laws in your state on those issues,. When you find something that supports your position include those laws/codes in a letter to him AND send that certified return receipt. Also google Landlord tenent laws for your state. It may be covered in there as well. In the future, do not rely on a persons word for anything if goes against a signed contract agreement. The seemingly nicest people turn ugly when it comes to money.