A few months ago, we had a bit of a struggle with our landlord. You see, the landlord decided they wanted to sell the house we are living in. We were past the renewal date on our lease, and as such, I insisted that we get to stay – totally within our contract rights, but not something the landlord wanted.
The last two months, our rent checks have mysteriously ‘not arrived’ at the landlord’s office. Hmm. Bit suspicious, given the timing, eh? It means we owe an extra $50 each time, for being late on the rent.
Anyhow, we’re going to start sending the rent checks via Certified Mail so that we have proof of mailing, but I’d really like to pull the landlord out into the open, you know? I want proof that we were cheated, in the hopes that we can do something about it. Anyone have any ideas?
Brilliant Mind Broken Body 
Does your city have any organizations that advocate for tenants’ rights? Local ordinances vary widely, and so I have found that often the best thing is to consult organizations that specialize in helping tenants to understand local laws & fight for their rights. My city is big enough that there are multiple organizations dedicated exclusively to this purpose, but in smaller cities, activist & community organizations that advocate for low-income people can often help too (or point you in the right direction). Another thing to try is the office of any local representatives (city councilman, county rep, congressional rep, etc) who field a wide range of constituent complaints and often know where to direct people.
To pay my rent I e-mailed my landlord money and scanned and e-mailed the lease document. My landlord wanted post dated checks for the remainder of the lease, but I’m hesitant to lose a bunch of checks (and have to pay $12.50 each to MAYBE cancel them).
As a law student you should familiarize yourself with Landlord Tenant law for your area. Your local courthouse as well as internet resources and of course your law school can provide you with this information.
Typically after a lease has expired and you are living month to month your landlord must give you a written letter asking you to move. The terms of the lease remain intact except that the landlord can by law increase the amount of rent due. You should always hand deliver rent and get a receipt or send it certified – sign receipt. The letter the landlord is required to send to terminate your occupancy is called a “Notice to Correct or Vacate.” Any part of your lease that says you can be evicted without notice is invalid, unless it is for nonpayment of rent. You are not required to vacate, however, until court orders your eviction. As soon as you receive a court notice about an eviction (called a “summons and complaint”), you should act immediately. The number of days notice is different depending upon the reason for eviction. The most common reasons are for nonpayment of rent, violation of the lease after receiving a 30-day written notice to comply with the terms of the lease, and a court decree that you have committed an illegal act in your apartment.
If you receive a court notice, you should always appear in court in order to protect your rights. Even if you paid your rent late, it is still best to go to court and make sure your payment is properly credited and the landlord’s complaint is dismissed.
Perhaps I was not clear enough about the specifics of our case.
Our lease is a one-year lease with an auto-renewal clause. If neither we nor our landlord say we will not renew 60 days before the end of the lease-year, it renews for another year. That’s what happened here. That puts us in a slightly unusual situation, which is why I posted here. We are not in a month-to-month clause.
We’re also a bit frustrated with how our landlord has been dealing with things.
Obviously, any time you receive a court notice, you should appear. You are only hurt when you don’t represent yourself, no matter what the matter is.
I’ve been exactly where you are. Read the book “A Divided Mind.” Feel well.
I’m not sure where you are but the laws differ from state-to-state. I’m in Michigan and I had a similar situation. I entered into a lease in July, 2011. As soon as I signed the lease the landlord told me he would be putting the house up for sale once that lease was up. I had no choice but to live with it but I figured I would, at least, have a whole year to find a new place. Then in January of 2012, nearly 6 months into the lease, I came home to find a “For Sale” sign in the front yard. I called my landlord and was told that he decided to put the house on the market early. It was a really crappy thing he did to me because I have EDS and Sjogren’s Syndrome and was very symptomatic last year, but he was within the law because the rule was that if the house sold, I would still be able to live out my lease. The problem was that I had to endure people coming into my home constantly. It was infuriating. There was one time when I was ill and sleeping on my couch in my underwear and a realtor helped himself inside my home without even knocking. I jumped up and yelled a few obscenities at him, and the family that was with him, because they were never given permission to enter. I was supposed to get a 24-hour notice prior to entry. You also have to endure Open Houses and knowing that there is a key to your home in a little box outside, that given the right circumstances, could end up in the wrong hands. I ended up filing a complaint against the realtor.
Because there were several things wrong with the home that were potentially dangerous, I decided to get the city involved and the landlord was cited on several code violations and I ended up getting a month free rent out of it. Once he knew I was fighting his unfairness, he stopped having realtors over. I was told I had to keep the house clean for the viewers but I found out that was false. I also found out that the realtor lied when he told me it was law that I had to allow the lock box on the front door. I made him remove it and hide it in the back yard. Make sure there is an agreement as to how much notice a realtor has to give before showing, and make sure whatever realtor shows up leaves a business card. Here in Michigan, it’s the law. Unfortunately, the word “reasonable notice” is the only thing I had to work with and that’s all up to interpretation. Also, just because my landlord became a bully and a jerk, I stopped putting things away in my house. The law that said I had to keep the house tidy for their visitors was false. In the lease it said I had to keep it clean, but clean and tidy are two different things. Once we deliberately pulled clothes onto the floor and had everything in disarray, just because. Sounds bad, but it was all a ruse to prevent them from coming over. I do believe it worked. If my landlord had been fair and waited until my lease was up I wouldn’t have had a problem with it, probably because I wouldn’t have been there.
Good luck to you.