Emily W. M.
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- Maine
I am currently in a 12-month lease in Maine that is up May 31. I went to my landlord Nov 1 and said that I was interested in buying a house and if we could switch the lease to month-to-month. She said yes- but that the current lease would end Jan 31, and then we'd do month-to-month with 60 days notice. I have this all documented over text and email. She agreed to write an addendum for the lease that we would sign. I reminded her four times about the addendum over the course of a month and she kept saying she would get to it soon. I, meanwhile, found my dream house and took the risk of putting an offer in before this addendum was written or signed. Dumb move, I know.
Our offer was accepted. On December 1, I told her that we would be following in the plan that she outlined, and leaving Jan 31 (60 days notice). She freaked out and said that she meant 60 days from Jan 31 would be the soonest we could leave, that it was our fault for not waiting for the addendum, and that since we went over her head she was now not interested in changing the lease and she would need rent from us until May 31 (the original lease end date).
A couple of days later we come home to find a "for sale" sign in the yard. She says that she is only interested in selling, not rerenting, and if she can sell it then we won't have to pay rent after we move. She lists it for WAY higher than it is worth- there's no way it well sell any time soon.
I live in a state where landlords are required to make a reasonable effort to rerent after a tenant breaks a lease. It doesn't seem like she is going to do so, but if I ask her to, then no one is going to rent a place that is on the market. If she takes it off the market to wait to sell this summer, no one is going to want to rent a place for four months with no possibility of staying.
Do I have to pay the remainder of the lease?
Our offer was accepted. On December 1, I told her that we would be following in the plan that she outlined, and leaving Jan 31 (60 days notice). She freaked out and said that she meant 60 days from Jan 31 would be the soonest we could leave, that it was our fault for not waiting for the addendum, and that since we went over her head she was now not interested in changing the lease and she would need rent from us until May 31 (the original lease end date).
A couple of days later we come home to find a "for sale" sign in the yard. She says that she is only interested in selling, not rerenting, and if she can sell it then we won't have to pay rent after we move. She lists it for WAY higher than it is worth- there's no way it well sell any time soon.
I live in a state where landlords are required to make a reasonable effort to rerent after a tenant breaks a lease. It doesn't seem like she is going to do so, but if I ask her to, then no one is going to rent a place that is on the market. If she takes it off the market to wait to sell this summer, no one is going to want to rent a place for four months with no possibility of staying.
Do I have to pay the remainder of the lease?