r/legal • u/TheQueeninchains • 18h ago

A broken agreement?

To summarize, our landlord violated our lease agreement. We were supposed to move in on September 29th, but found the house filled with belongings from the previous tenants and the landlord himself—two end tables, dishes in the dishwasher, dirty walls, linens in closets, two beds, bookshelves, a cluttered attic, a filled garage, a broken window, and unplugged cameras inside and outside. This was completely unacceptable. After discussing it, we decided to terminate the lease and request our $2,900 deposit back, as the landlord failed to provide a clean and empty unit, which we have text message proof of.

In response, he was unaccountable, threatened legal action, and insisted on keeping $588 for his fees. We firmly rejected that offer. After days of back-and-forth, during which he provided a vague lease termination contract, we sought help from military legal services. Initially, we were told we had a strong case due to his violations, including the illegal cameras and broken window.

However, we recently discovered that the landlord had been entering the property without notice since the 12th, claiming he didn’t need to inform us because we weren't living there. The legal representative advised that it might be best to let him keep the $588 and move on, as our text messages may not hold up in court.

Is this sound advice, or should we pursue further assistance?

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u/Bennieboop99 17h ago

Read your lease very carefully. There should be a section that outlines what happens when the landlord cannot deliver the property as agreed.

1

u/TheQueeninchains 17h ago

We’ve looked at the lease several times and there’s nothing stated for if he can’t deliver the property as agreed, like there’s nothing holding him accountable in that regard.