Landlord Problems (Again)

Happy New Years!

As others around the world ring in the new year with streamers and noise makers, Michelle and I get to anticipate another year of landlord issues. We had thought that our landlord issues were behind us, but little did we know that they would once again rear their ugly head.

When our current landlord inherited the apartment from her late father (for whom she had been the legal custodian) we didn't think that much would change. She had effectively been our landlord for the past year, while her father was infirmed, and while we had a few bumps earlier in the year our relationship now seemed fine. Even when our landlord decided to sell the apartment she assured us that the lease would be honored and that we would not be forced to move.

That was until she realized that the lease was extended longer than she thought. She called up furious and was extremely nasty. She accused me of being underhanded, of writing in the extension without her knowledge, and of taking advantage of her while her father was on his deathbed. I explained to her that I had acted in good faith and referred her to e-mails where she had been made explicitly aware of the length of the desired extension and had agreed. Her response was to continue being mean and threatening. She said that we could either reduce the length of our lease or go to court.

About 15 minutes later my landlord called back and said that the lease wasn't valid in the first place because her father had died, meaning that she was no longer the legal custodian, and therefore lacked the authority to sign the lease in the first place. I pointed out that the lease was signed before we were aware of her father's passing. She again was mean and threatening.

Funny how after pointing out to her that she had accepted the terms of the extension, she suddenly decided that the lease is not valid.

What really gets me is that throughout our (Michelle's and my) entire time as tenants in the apartment we have acted in good faith. We care for the apartment and have treated our landlord with respect. In spite of this, our landlord chose to attack and demean us in an attempt to bully us into shortening our lease. She could have asked about the extension politely. She could have appealed to our sense of decency as a woman who had just lost her father and who may have mistakenly or unthinkingly signed a now problematic (to her) extension. If a mistake was made, we should be able to talk about the ramifications of that mistake and search for possible solutions. Instead, the landlord attacked our character and took zero responsibility.

It's shaping up to be a "great" new year.