Bought a house after agreeing to rent, but never moved in, do I owe the landlord?

[robinsonvh]

I was looking to rent an apartment month to month in the interim while I looked to buy a house.

I found an apartment I liked, and told the landlord this - and that I did not want to sign a lease. I paid a $300 security deposit to hold the apartment. The landlord stopped having potential renters look at the place.

I did not sign a lease. The landlord and I drafted a payment plan for the next four months on a scrap piece of paper, which we both signed, but did not date. The only writing on the paper was written in this fashion, "April 15 - May - 650", May 15- June - 700, June 15-July-800, July 15- August 800" (both of us signed underneath.

Two days before I was to move in I made an offer on a house, and called the landlord and told them this, that I wouldnt be moving in. The landlord has already cashed my deposit, and now wants compensation for the other half of the month.

Am I under any obligation to pay, when I did not sign an actual lease, and never moved in?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Your landlord can argue quite successfully in court that your signature on this payment plan is a lease; a legal document outlining that you agreed to take this apartment and pay so much on a monthly basis. The landlord then took the place off the market. The fact that you never physically moved in plays no role in this.

In most states a month to month tenancy can be terminated with a 30 day written notice. Your landlord is allowing you out of the lease with less notice.

In addition, it sounds as if your $300 was not a security deposit but rather a "holding deposit" again provided to take the apartment off the market and "hold" it for you.

Gail