Can I sue my landlord for a false negative reference?

[ring]

My two year lease is up at the end of this month. It is a fixed term lease in Missouri. Missouri statute states that no notice is required of the tenant or landlord for a fixed term lease. The law also states that if a tenant does occupy the property after the lease expiration date, the landlord may charge double the rent for those months. We found a new home for our family, and everything was going well until the property manager of the new rental called my current landlord to inquire about my tenancy. I have paid rent on time every month and have maintained the property, The landlord advised the new property manager that she required 30 days notice and that I had not provided that. The property manager told me this. The landlord also called and told me this. She told me she would not give back her security deposit. I told her I would cancel the professional cleaning and professional carpet cleaning if she tried to withhold my deposit. She then called the property manager and told him that I made threats against the property. The property manager declined our rental and advised that the negative reference by the landlord was the primary reason. We do not have a backup property. We will probably NEVER find the deal we got again. This landlord caused significant damage to my family and has sabotaged our oportunity. I had taken time off of work to move, and I start a new position in my company on 6/1 and will be unable to take time off again for at least 3 months. I have written and tried to reason with the landlord, but she is betting that I will not take action. What recourse do I have? Please help!

[kalvin71]

My two year lease is up at the end of this month. It is a fixed term lease in Missouri. Missouri statute states that no notice is required of the tenant or landlord for a fixed term lease. The law also states that if a tenant does occupy the property after the lease expiration date, the landlord may charge double the rent for those months. We found a new home for our family, and everything was going well until the property manager of the new rental called my current landlord to inquire about my tenancy. I have paid rent on time every month and have maintained the property, The landlord advised the new property manager that she required 30 days notice and that I had not provided that. The property manager told me this. The landlord also called and told me this. She told me she would not give back her security deposit. I told her I would cancel the professional cleaning and professional carpet cleaning if she tried to withhold my deposit. She then called the property manager and told him that I made threats against the property. The property manager declined our rental and advised that the negative reference by the landlord was the primary reason. We do not have a backup property. We will probably NEVER find the deal we got again. This landlord caused significant damage to my family and has sabotaged our oportunity. I had taken time off of work to move, and I start a new position in my company on 6/1 and will be unable to take time off again for at least 3 months. I have written and tried to reason with the landlord, but she is betting that I will not take action. What recourse do I have? Please help!

You are unlikely to win a case, everything she said was true.

You did not give notice, true.

You threatened the property, true. "... I would cancel the professional cleaning and professional carpet clean..."

You also can not force the new landlord to rent to you, you have no signed lease with them.

[forde]

Missouri law does not require you to give notice UNLESS the lease states otherwise. If you agreed...by your own signature...to give notice, then your landlord is correct.

[egann]

Sure you can. But it will be difficult. And probably time consuming. You need to work out what this has cost you and go from there.

[newyddilyn60]

Maybe get a place for the summer so you have time to look for somewhere you really want to live long term.

Better to move on, find another place(at least temporarily), then rip the old landlord(whether by phone, in court, or online) AFTER everything(deposit, reference, etc.) is settled with the old place. At least that's what I did after my old place stole $344 from my deposit by agreeing to a move-out date slightly before the end of the lease and then calling me after I moved out saying they made a mistake and weren't supposed to do that and I owed them money. I simply ripped them in an online review that was 100% true, though they probably know I write it. I contemplated small claims but didn't really think it was worth the hassle. Might they give me a negative reference next time I move? Maybe, but I'd bet money that they'll have a different resident manager by then who will know nothing other than that I always paid my rent on time, gave almost 2 months notice before leaving, got about half my deposit back, and had no lease violations. Or that the current one will forget that I existed, given that they have hundreds of residents, I don't plan to move for a couple years, and when I do move it will more likely be to own a place.