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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    1

    Default If You Don't Sign The Lease Are You Legally Obliged To Pay Back Rent

    Hi, me and a friend moved into an apartment on the same day the complex changed management. Between the hustle and bustle, we never signed a lease to the apartment, but were given keys and maintenance requests, keys to the mailboxes, etc...

    We figured it would be cool just to see how long we could get away with this. Since we didn't sign a lease, they can't charge use back rent. No legal contract, no obligations, right?

    I have read the squatting laws in Texas and (from I understand) the worst they can do is evict us. Because they have no record of us living in the apartment, they only know what we tell them. They are trying to make us pay rent for the ~2 months we have lived here with complete late fees included, adding up to just under 2000 dollars.

    Am I wrong in thinking this, that they can't make us pay for an obligation that we never committed to? Or am I missing something?

    EDIT: If anyone can supply court cases in the state of Texas as well as Federal if possible, that would be quite helpful. If you have any experience with this kind of stuff, any legal advice would be nice, though I am sure the apartment complex has no legal ground in this.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Toledo, OH
    Posts
    16,307

    Default Re: No Lease Signed - Legally Obliged To Pay Back Rent?

    We figured it would be cool just to see how long we could get away with this.
    So...you and your roommate essentially decided that you were going to attempt to defraud your landlord?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    2,652

    Default Re: No Lease Signed - Legally Obliged To Pay Back Rent?

    You believe there was no agreement just because the lease didn't get signed?

    Turn the "bass" down in your head - your roommate is starting to hear it.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    252

    Default Re: No Lease Signed - Legally Obliged To Pay Back Rent?

    In absence of a written lease, Texas state law automatically creates one for both you and the landlord ..this is called a "tenacy at will" or "month to month" tenancy. Not having a written lease does NOT give you the right to just sit back and not pay rent. Once you took possession of the apartment...you were considered a tenant at will. The landlord can and should proceed to court for not only evicting you, but getting a judgment against you and your roomate for any rent owed, late fees, court costs & attorney fees. You landlord could then proceed to garnish your wages, attach your IRS returns, ruin your credit and make it nearly impossible to rent elsewhere. Next time read up on the law before you do something so stupid.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    28,906

    Default Re: No Lease Signed - Legally Obliged To Pay Back Rent?

    I don't think late fees can be charged in Texas without a valid written lease. See Texas Statutes, Property Code Sec. 92.019. But absolutely, if you take possession of premises with an understanding as to the rent, signed lease or no, you can be held responsible for the rent.

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