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landlord claims he 'made a mistake' on lease terms

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landlord claims he 'made a mistake' on lease terms

Postby impunchdrunk » Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:09 am

Hello all, here is my situation:

I just moved into a 1 bedroom apartment in a private house. I moved in on December 27th. I signed a month to month lease with the landlord prior to moving in and gave him a month's rent and security. The terms were every 15th of the month, rent was due. Today, February 1st, I get a call from the husband and he tells me that he made a 'mistake' on when rent was due. He said that after speaking with his wife, the rent should have been due on the 1st instead of the 15th. He apologized profusely about the mistake. I told him I didn't have a problem giving him the rent today provided that he wrote out a new lease reflecting the new due date. He gave me a receipt for rent paid as of today and then left.

I went to the bank and withdrew the cash and bought it back to him. When I returned, he gave me the new lease with the new due date BUT ALSO WITH A NEW ITEM STATING THAT WASHING MACHINES WERE NOT ALLOWED. This was NOT in the original lease I signed. I now have a bad taste in my mouth and no longer have the feel good vibe about living here that I once had. The wife (Who I have NO dealings with) also insists on me giving my SS#, after I've already been here for a month and my references, job status, income and credit report have already been provided. I'm not giving my SS to these people. Can somebody tell me what I should do about the situation? Thanks.
impunchdrunk
 
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Postby TenantNet » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:26 am

Lease renewals in regulated apartments must be on the same terms and conditions as the expiring lease. Not so here. LLs can change the terms. But IMHO you don't need a new lease just to reflect when the rent is due.

In private homes and rooming houses, LLs often have House Rules which covers many things. I don't think he needs a lease clause to prohibit a washing machine. Plus, some private homes just don't have the hot water capacity to handle washing machines for separate apartments.

On the SS number, if they didn't ask for it when you rented the unit, there's no law that requires you to provide it now. But again, being unregulated, you're somewhat at the mercy of the LL.
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Postby impunchdrunk » Wed Feb 04, 2009 8:06 am

Thanks for the response TN. You're always on point! Well, he never mentioned wanting the SS# again and if/when he does again, I'm going to tell him that I'm uncomfortable giving someone my identity just to live in their apartment. I'll also tell him that if that's a deal breaker then I'll just move out after I find a new place. He's not doing ME a favor by letting me live here since I'm paying my rent and there are plenty of other people who would gladly accept a tenant paying 1200 per. I hope that it doesn't come to that though. I'm on track for my own house by November and I just can't wait.
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