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  1. #1

    Default Moving In When The Unit Isn't Ready On Time

    State of Washington: (landlord tenant legal info)

    My wife and I are moving to a new construction townhome this month.

    Initially, I went ahead and arranged for our lease to start on July 22, 2007. Our previous lease ends on July 31, 2007 and we were going to use the extra few days to do some painting and setup the place how we wanted. (our landlord approved).

    About a week ago, he called us to let us know that the utilites would not be connected on time, which set them back a bit. He believed the unit would be ready for move-in by Wednesday, July 25th. As a gesture of good-will, he agreed to not charge us any rent for July. Woot. That sounded good to us.

    I just received a voicemail from him that the unit won't be available until Saturday, August 4 now. He suggested we attempt to get a short-term lease extension on my previous lease. He did not mention anything about finances in this voicemail, so before I call him back, I am looking for some advice.

    On my new lease, it states that if I move out late, I must pay 3x the normal lease rate, prorated for the days I actually occupy the unit.

    Nevermind the fact that our current apartment has probably already been rented since this is a high demand location. It is very unlikely we can extend our lease for 4 more days (but of course, we will pursue this option).

    My new landlord is very nice and we intend to stay in his unit for several years if possible. We do not want to pressure him in any way - and we want to keep a good relationship with him. At the same time, I need to know what my rights are. The delay by the power company was obviously (probably) not in his control - but not exactly an act of God either. How should I approach this?

    We hate to move twice... but if necessary, I could move our belongings into a storage facility and stay in a hotel for a few days -

    Also, not sure if this is relevant, but the lease was arranged by a property management company. (Windermere). Their fee was one months rent. They basically screened the potential tenants, did the background check, credit check, made it clear that it would be really expensive if we broke the lease early since we were not authorized to find replacement tenants ourselves, etc. So I could potentially ask them for advice in this situation as well.

    Thanks!

  2. #2

    Default Re: Moving In When The Unit Isn't Ready On Time

    Ok, I called the landlord back.

    He will see if he can get us access to the garage by July 29th and then we can probably move in by Aug 4, assuming the final inspection goes OK.

    He has offered us a credit of "2.5 days" worth of rent for the inconvenience. (i.e., we would pay from Aug 2.5 -> Aug 31) I didn't accept or decline his offer since I wanted to get some advice from you guys and/or my family.

    It seems like my questions around here usually go un-replied to. That's probably because I already did my research and sorta know the answer? (i.e., yes, I can press for the money, but it will strain the relationship with him. And furthermore, it might require a trip to small claims court to collect the money. This will guarantee we have to move out when the lease is up)

  3. #3

    Default Re: Moving In When The Unit Isn't Ready On Time

    Sorry to keep spamming in this thread ( ) but I finally got spoke with my parents.

    They are good at playing devil's advocate. From their point-of-view, the lease commenced today and the landlord did not provide us keys so the lease is null-and-void. Their opinion is that I should get the lease re-written to be effective on Aug. 4, 2007 -- their reasoning is that if the final inspection does not go as-planned, I could end up being in limbo (without a place to live) for more than just a few days. (weeks or months if the issues are severe enough).

    I think they might just be being paranoid... what do you think? We have this verbal agreement that I won't pay rent from Jul 22 -> Aug 2.5 but I know that in the year 2007, verbal agreements can be difficult (at best) to enforce.

    The truth is that the premises is not livable until it passes the final inspection and the land lord provides us with the keys - so if this did come down to a small claims court issue, I think there would be a clear outcome...

  4. #4

    Default Re: Moving In When The Unit Isn't Ready On Time

    Well first off you need to be talking to both LL's not us on a message board to try and work this out.

    New construction is hardly EVER ready when expected..just a fact of life.

    Most GOOD leases that LL's use will have something about a period of 2-3 days that if they cannot deliver the unit within that time span, the agreement can be terminated. There is no "pay" though or anything like that.

    You need to read BOTH of your leases and then negotiate in WRITING with BOTH landlords whatever they will work out with you.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Moving In When The Unit Isn't Ready On Time

    Quote Quoting CA LL
    View Post
    Well first off you need to be talking to both LL's not us on a message board to try and work this out.

    New construction is hardly EVER ready when expected..just a fact of life.

    Most GOOD leases that LL's use will have something about a period of 2-3 days that if they cannot deliver the unit within that time span, the agreement can be terminated. There is no "pay" though or anything like that.

    You need to read BOTH of your leases and then negotiate in WRITING with BOTH landlords whatever they will work out with you.

    Thank you very much for your advice

    I talked to both the owner of the new unit and the property management company that handled the initial paperwork. They don't see this as an issue at all - they suggest that I just change the data on the lease when the owner provides me with the keys and then initial. No need for a new lease with the correct dates!

    Hopefully I'm not being hoodwinked, but as you mentioned, they are the key players I need to talk to.

    Thanks again!!

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