Hi, I'd appreciate some help.

[Regular_Justin]

I'll start from the beginning. About two years ago 4 of my friends moved into this house. The house was in good condition and all was fine.They threw party after party and the place got trashed. The carpet in the living room was wore through )from all the traffic from party goers), there were random holes in the wall, stains on the ceiling, broken windows,etc. Soon after they resigned the lease for another year, but shortly decided to move out of town. The lease got changed over to two of my friends, they asked me and another friend to move in, so we did. The two of us that moved in later never signed the a lease. The boys who lived there before were asked by the landlord to paint the walls and we had asked them to move all the furniture and other random things they left. They painted the walls, but did a poor job of it, leaving a few inches from the ceiling and floor unpainted. They moved some of their stuff out of the house and into the two garages, and the rest into the basement. They claimed they would come back and at least clean the garages out. The end of the lease came around and they still hadnt dont that. We didnt feel we were responsible for it, so we didnt do it either. The people I lived with left a few things there as well, like a couch and some random clothes.

Its now 6 months later and the landlord is taking the 4 of us to court for "damages" equalling around $2,000. Thats on top of the $550 deposit not being returned. So this is where a few questions come in.

1. Are the previous tenants responsible for the damages and property they left behind?
2. Are myself and the other tenant that didnt sign a lease legally responsible for any of this?
3. If the landlord didnt inspect the house before we moved in, can she even sue anybody?
4. Is there a deadline for lawsuits like this to be filed?
5. Can she sue for disposing of abandoned property?
6. Is it possible to work this out outside of court if the lawsuit has already been filed?


Sorry for all the questions, if somebody could answer any of them, that would be very helpful. It just seems like the amount she is taking us to court for is ridiculous for a house that was in need of repairs anyways if we didnt move in. Any other advice that anybody feels would be helpful would be a appreciated too.


Thanks,
Justin

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I'll start from the beginning. About two years ago 4 of my friends moved into this house. The house was in good condition and all was fine.They threw party after party and the place got trashed. The carpet in the living room was wore through )from all the traffic from party goers), there were random holes in the wall, stains on the ceiling, broken windows,etc. Soon after they resigned the lease for another year, but shortly decided to move out of town. The lease got changed over to two of my friends, they asked me and another friend to move in, so we did. The two of us that moved in later never signed the a lease. The boys who lived there before were asked by the landlord to paint the walls and we had asked them to move all the furniture and other random things they left. They painted the walls, but did a poor job of it, leaving a few inches from the ceiling and floor unpainted. They moved some of their stuff out of the house and into the two garages, and the rest into the basement. They claimed they would come back and at least clean the garages out. The end of the lease came around and they still hadnt dont that. We didnt feel we were responsible for it, so we didnt do it either. The people I lived with left a few things there as well, like a couch and some random clothes.

Its now 6 months later and the landlord is taking the 4 of us to court for "damages" equalling around $2,000. Thats on top of the $550 deposit not being returned. So this is where a few questions come in.

1. Are the previous tenants responsible for the damages and property they left behind?
2. Are myself and the other tenant that didnt sign a lease legally responsible for any of this?
3. If the landlord didnt inspect the house before we moved in, can she even sue anybody?
4. Is there a deadline for lawsuits like this to be filed?
5. Can she sue for disposing of abandoned property?
6. Is it possible to work this out outside of court if the lawsuit has already been filed?


Sorry for all the questions, if somebody could answer any of them, that would be very helpful. It just seems like the amount she is taking us to court for is ridiculous for a house that was in need of repairs anyways if we didnt move in. Any other advice that anybody feels would be helpful would be a appreciated too.

Sorry to hear about the problems. I'll reply as best as possible answers as I see them. Right now I see 2 friends with a lease, 2 friends who are sublessors. I'm not exactly sure what the landlord is suing for -- do you know? I'm assuming from what you say it is the difference between the condition of the house when first rented and now.

(1) The previous tenants would seem liable for damages they caused. It would be interesting (and completely necessary) to see what the lease says -- which is the most important document to review before going to court. It should speak to rights and remedies, conditions of the home, and who would be responsible for damages. If typical, I'm guessing it states that the renters must return the home to the landlord in no less than the condition rented, less reasonable wear and tear.

So the question really becomes whether you or the current leaseholders assumed any liability. I wouldn't think so. You might claim that the landlord is suing the wrong party for the damages. You did deliver the home in the same condition as when rented to you and the landlord should have inspected the home before suing. Your option would be to bring the other tenants to court by suing/joining them into the action or just letting the landlord do his job himself (this might make it easier with friendships.)

However, regarding the furniture and other items, once you rented the home, it's debatable as to whether you kept their furniture as your own or just didn't object to a partially furnished home. I'm not quite sure how to handle that one but you may need to remove the furniture.

(2) As a subtenant, that's a good question and it may be determined by the jurisdiction. As a general rule, a subtenant must comply with all the terms and conditions of the lease. Moreso, if you were directly responsible for damages, e.g. you punched a hole in a door, the landlord doesn't need a lease to sue you for the damages.

(3) Yes, the landlord can sue but might not win the case. As pointed out above, the landlord might be suing the wrong party for damages and would be required to prove the condition of the house from the time the new lease began.

(4) Yes, there is a statute of limitations but I doubt it has run against you and is probably at least 2 years time although it depends upon the jurisdiction.

(5) Probably yes. Look at the lease. I would expect this to be the case although again, it's debatable as to who owns the personal property left in the house.

(6) Absolutely. The court prefers people settle their disputes that way. You might do best by telling the landlord that you are actually doing her a favor in settling the differences because, in addition to wasting time and money suing the wrong party, all of you will testify as to the condition of the home if she sues the people who trashed the home. She hasn't a hope to recover unless she has your help too and you both have congruent interests. Make sure to get a written release of settlement from the landlord.

Good luck to all of you and in the future, take pictures of a home before you move in. It can really help you out in situations like this.

 

[Regular_Justin]

Thank you very very much. I just needed some stuff cleared up that I wasnt sure about and you pretty much took care of that. Again I thank you, and hopefully we will get this all worked out.