I signed a lease for a new apartment which starts March 1st. Part of the verbal agreement was that the apartment would be painted/cleaned up/etc and move-in-ready for around February 21st. The previous tenants' lease ended January 31st. I got a call last week from the management company that the tenants are still there and have no idea when they are moving out (their next place isn't ready yet).
There is no promise that I will be able to move into this apartment by March 1st. I have already paid the deposit of 1 month security, 1 month rent, and 1 month broker's fee. There is someone expecting to move into my current place March 1st. The management company has told me that it's very hard to evict someone and it could take months.
What is legally owed to me by the management company? If I am not in this apartment by March 1st, I am essentially homeless, unless I stay in my current place and screw over the person behind me. Withholding rent doesn't seem like enough, and if it goes on long enough, I'm going to have to start looking for a new place and demand my deposit back.