Landlord broke lease, do I have any recourse?

[Metalliman98]

Can anyone help me? On 1/4/04, I signed a month to month lease with an owner of a condo for a room in his unit. We both signed and dated, but as of this moment he is the only one with the copy of the lease. I gave him two checks for deposit and first months rent, which he has not yet cashed. Today, 1/6/2004, he called me and said he did not want me to move in, as I was supposed to today. Do I have any kind of legal recourse? He is going to return my checks, but I figure I should at least get a penalty of first month's rent from him, since that is what he would get if I had broken the lease. Does anyone know if I have a case?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

You may have a case but you would likely need to prove it -- e.g. that you paid for a mover and had to cancel, it cost you extra money to move because of timing, etc. But with a month to month lease you are afforded very little protection so you won't get paid simply for moving because you may have been doing that in 60 days after you get your 30 days notice!

Originally posted by Metalliman98
Can anyone help me? On 1/4/04, I signed a month to month lease with an owner of a condo for a room in his unit. We both signed and dated, but as of this moment he is the only one with the copy of the lease. I gave him two checks for deposit and first months rent, which he has not yet cashed. Today, 1/6/2004, he called me and said he did not want me to move in, as I was supposed to today. Do I have any kind of legal recourse? He is going to return my checks, but I figure I should at least get a penalty of first month's rent from him, since that is what he would get if I had broken the lease. Does anyone know if I have a case?