Hi everyone. This situation is a little messy, so let me know if there are any clarity issues.
In December 2010 we signed a 1-year lease with my landlord (let's call him Landlord A), expiring November 30 2011. In September of 2011, our landlord sold the building without telling us -- In the middle of the month we came home to a sign taped to our apartment door from our new landlord, (Landlord B-- actually a realty company and not a single landlord) saying that he was now the owner of our building, and provided contact information and the location where we were supposed to send our rent.
Prior to the selling of the building, we talked to Landlord A about extending our lease come December and he evaded our questions. When we talked to Landlord B, he refused to extend our lease because they planned to gut the two existing units and turn them into 4 small units. They said we could stay month-to-month until spring, then we had to move.
I should also mention that Landlord A sold the building to Landlord B with the understanding that the building would be empty when Landlord B took over -- this obviously wasn't the case. They were just as surprised to see us as we were them.
In November we found out that the tenants in the unit above us made a deal with Landlord B that they would leave February 1st and in the meantime did not have to pay their rent. We demanded the same, and they are being really wishy-washy about the terms and keep changing their minds about the move-out deadline and whether or not we are to pay rent until then.
Sorry that this is terribly long-winded. My question is -- do they have to take us to court to formally evict us? Do we have any legal rights now that we don't have a lease (because they refused to resign and are forcing us to move so they can gut the building)? Do we have any leverage? What can we do to ensure that we are protected? This is an extremely stressful time, and since my roommates and I are all grad students we are worried that having to move again is going to cost us a lot of money and interfere with the upcoming semester. We understand that we will have to move, but can we get any kind of compensation from them for making us move?
Thanks. Sorry again for all the rambling.