Anyone at all that can give me any advice or assistance, please do. I know nothing about this; I'm 19 years old and am ignorant of how to deal with situations like this. PLEASE help me.
I moved out of my old apartment into a new one on May 1. I asked the landlord of my old apartment if I was allowed to sublet. He said I could, but it would be my responsibility to keep track of who I subleased to.
I signed a contract with a woman agreeing to sublet my apartment to her from mid May through the end of August (the end of my lease on the old apartment). I do have copies of the signed contract between her and I. She paid me a security deposit which would be returned to her in August. Three days after signing the contract, she contacted me and told me she might have found a more ideal living situation, knew it was her responsibility to find a replacement in the sublet due to the contract, and said she had found someone. Halfway through the month of May, I heard from one of my x-roommates that she had completely backed out of the sublet. I contacted her to find out if it was true, and she told me that she was completely breaking the contract because her plans changed and she didn't want it anymore and refused to make payments on it.
Unsure of my rights, I consulted the realtor that had helped me find my new apartment. She told me I could take this woman to small claims court for the amount of rent she owes me for breaking the contract, and she also contacted an attorney on my behalf who told her the same thing. I contacted the woman I had the contract with and told her I would take her to court if we could not reach a settlement, and named two months rent as an appropriate settlement (I would keep her security deposit and asked for only an additional months rent).
I have now received a letter from an alleged attorney hired by this woman telling me that I am to no longer contact her about the situation, and that I must send the attorney a refund of her security deposit back to him immediately. I have kept copies of all our correspondence, and I also have a hard copy of our SIGNED agreement.
I'm scared, and unsure of what to do, as I cannot afford 2 apartments over the summer, and I do not think it's fair that she can just back out of our contract like this. Please help me.
I moved out of my old apartment into a new one on May 1. I asked the landlord of my old apartment if I was allowed to sublet. He said I could, but it would be my responsibility to keep track of who I subleased to.
I signed a contract with a woman agreeing to sublet my apartment to her from mid May through the end of August (the end of my lease on the old apartment). I do have copies of the signed contract between her and I. She paid me a security deposit which would be returned to her in August. Three days after signing the contract, she contacted me and told me she might have found a more ideal living situation, knew it was her responsibility to find a replacement in the sublet due to the contract, and said she had found someone. Halfway through the month of May, I heard from one of my x-roommates that she had completely backed out of the sublet. I contacted her to find out if it was true, and she told me that she was completely breaking the contract because her plans changed and she didn't want it anymore and refused to make payments on it.
Unsure of my rights, I consulted the realtor that had helped me find my new apartment. She told me I could take this woman to small claims court for the amount of rent she owes me for breaking the contract, and she also contacted an attorney on my behalf who told her the same thing. I contacted the woman I had the contract with and told her I would take her to court if we could not reach a settlement, and named two months rent as an appropriate settlement (I would keep her security deposit and asked for only an additional months rent).
I have now received a letter from an alleged attorney hired by this woman telling me that I am to no longer contact her about the situation, and that I must send the attorney a refund of her security deposit back to him immediately. I have kept copies of all our correspondence, and I also have a hard copy of our SIGNED agreement.
I'm scared, and unsure of what to do, as I cannot afford 2 apartments over the summer, and I do not think it's fair that she can just back out of our contract like this. Please help me.
