Need legal advice regarding lease agreements, tenant, and landlord laws?

[jorian23]

Moved into an apartment complex in Stockbridge, Georgia. Our initial lease aggreement was for 12 months, which included water and trash. However, the lease aggreement was not signed by management. After 2 months of signing our second lease, new management tried to collect for utilities (water/trash) during our prior lease aggreement. When contacted, realized that the second lease aggreement did not include an intial term nor an ending date for the lease. Does this make the second lease agreement invalid? What does that mean in terms of what they are saying we owe?

Also, our rental office was closed December 31, 2010- January 3, 2011. On the third, rent is due and paid. On January 4, 2011, management contacted me regarding our check not being accepted into the system. Told me that I need to pay with a money order that day to avoid any late charges. I paid the rent that day, but had a notice placed on my door saying that I owe late fees on top of a prior balance for utilities for the first lease aggreement. On the notice it said a demand will be placed on premises in 5 days because we owe this balance. So my question is...are any of my leases valid? And do I owe them anything?

[lorimar]

What you are asking about is contract law.

The basic law of contract is very similar in all common law countries – that is, countries that derive their legal system from England. And that includes all the US states (except Louisiana) and all Canadian provinces, except Quebec. Under the common law, you need three things to form a valid contract:

An offer by one person,
Acceptance by another person, and
A mutual exchange of value between the parties.

That can all be done by word of mouth; the law does not usually require that a contract be in writing. However, it is always a good idea – A written contract avoids getting into a “he said/she said” debate when the contractual relation breaks down- even when it has not been signed by all parties.

I am not a lawyer but I believe in your case that the original contract although it was not signed by management is legal and binding for the duration of the contract and that new management must honor the terms. If water and trash was included in the original contract then you do not have to pay for it. To wit this invalidates any subsequent contracts being drawn up until the expiration of the first.

For a contract to be valid, both parties must give their assent. [the landlord and you did that] They must act in such a way that the other people involved believe their intention is to make a contract. [You did that]. Thus a person who is clearly not sincere in saying that he or she accepts an offer usually is not held to a contract by the courts. You moved in which sealed the deal and made the contract valid. Your landlord gave you the keys which demonstrated his commitment to the contract- even though he did not sign it.

On the other hand, a person who secretly has no intention of making a contract but who acts in a manner that leads people to believe he or she had, may be held to a contract. Legally, it is the external appearance that determines whether one is held to a contract. In my opinion you and your landlord have all the "external" appearance of having entered a legally binding contract.

Re: late fees. From what you have said you were told you needed to pay by money order and by a certain day to avoid late fees. If you complied then there is no reason I can see for you to be charged a late fee. I would question the notice on your door. The fact that you paid by check and the check was "not accepted into the system" sounds odd but it sounds like their problem not yours. If paying by check was an option offered by the landlord and you paid by check they need to fix their system unless of course the check bounced or the bank refused it because of a problem on your end.

Below is an excellent link that explains what contract law is and what makes a contract valid.

[coinleain]

while doing something you are not obligated to do is actually a bad thing, it "validates" a debt.

With no signature by the manager you have no lease. I frankly, I would OFFER to go to small claims
court and sue for theft of your money, for fraud and other stuff.

I would check with the county treasurer and find out who owns the bldg and let them know that
you are being treated poorly.

I bet you can buy a house for less than your rental payments.

available to guide you further

[karlitis]

I'm confused, did you not pay the water and trash portion of the bill because the lease was un-signed?

If so, you definitely have to owe it, someone paid it, and they have every right to collect from you for your usage.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but you should've caught the discrepancy on the lease on the signing day. Unless we get a law student or attorney here that answers, I would say call one that offers a free consult and see what you should do, but back to the water and trash, I'm saying yep, you owe...just pay it and "git r done" before you get evicted.