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Move Date Pushed Back by Management Company

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  • 05-25-2010, 08:49 PM
    amazonqueenkate
    Move Date Pushed Back by Management Company
    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Virginia.

    Long-time lurker, first time poster; I know LawResearcherMissy off-site and often come and read her posts. (And I'm a future law student!)

    Anyway, that's neither here or there. I'm posting on behalf of a friend to ask the following:

    She arranged to move apartments from one complex to another (owned by different companies) with a move-in date for the new place of June 10th. There was no lease signed -- she was told that lease-signing is delayed until a tenant takes possession -- but she did pay a hold fee of $99 and recieved an approval letter stating that her application had been okayed and confirming the move-in date of June 10th.

    Today, she got a call from the new complex stating that her move-in date has been delayed until July 10th. She's meant to vacate her current apartment long before then, and after much conversation, she's been allowed to move into a much smaller apartment (studio, as opposed to one-bedroom) as a hold-over from June 27th until July 10th.

    Obviously, this presents a huge variety of issues for her, such as setting up utilities temporarially, changing her address twice (as her unit number will change), securing movers (she's already paid a deposit for June 10th; she now is looking at changing that date to the 27th and then possibly having to hire them again for July 10th), and having to possibly secure a storage unit if her belongings don't fit in the studio apartment.

    She's wondering if a.) this is legally allowed by the apartment complex, and b.) if she has any recourse to at least secure storage or some sort of discount given that the complex changed the move-in date so abruptly.

    Thanks so much for your help. She's really upset about this and frustrated, and this is the closest thing to legal help either of us could think of at the moment.

    ~ Kate
  • 05-25-2010, 09:15 PM
    jk
    Re: Move Date Pushed Back by Management Company
    did she sign anything when she gave the deposit? What does it say to the date? Does it allow for the date to be changed for some reason?
  • 05-26-2010, 09:53 AM
    amazonqueenkate
    Re: Move Date Pushed Back by Management Company
    They never told her the move-in date was subject to change, and nor was it in the fine print on anything she read.

    She wasn't really given anything to sign, just the application, but all the confirmation paperwork she recieved from the new complex read that she would be moving in June 10th and said nothing about a change of date. And, again, they took the hold fee from her to ensure she would have a one-bedroom apartment on that day.
  • 05-26-2010, 10:46 AM
    jk
    Re: Move Date Pushed Back by Management Company
    well, what this comes down to is what, exactly, does what she signed state and provide for. Without reading it (and no, please do not post it), it is impossible to make that determination. If it is truly a contract that made a promise of being allowed to move in on the date, the complex should be able to be held liable for any damages incurred. If it is not a contract, there would be no damages and therefore, no claim.

    the best I can suggest is to take it to a local attorney that can read the agreement and render an opinion.

    If nothing else, I would at least ask the management to pay for the temp storage due to this. The worst they can say is no.
  • 05-26-2010, 01:08 PM
    amazonqueenkate
    Re: Move Date Pushed Back by Management Company
    Ha! No worries, I will not be pasting any of her documents in here, I am not that kind of crazy. ;)

    I'll pass on what you've said and hopefully, she can get some help on this. Thanks so much for your time!
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