questions & answers

Question: I was living in a place in az, i gotreally sick (Almost died) so i talked to management & they let me outta the lease. I received my damage deposit & a paper stating i owe nothing. Then 1-2years later i got a bill for $588.00 they said that the manager made a mistake as far as letting me outta of the lease. Can they bill me after that much time has passed?

Answer: As a general rule, once a landlord has returned a tenant’s damage deposit along with a letter confirming that the tenant owes the landlord no money, the landlord has waived the right to change his/her mind at a later date. A tenant in your situation might wish to consider responding to the bill from the landlord by sending the landlord a signed dated letter reminding the landlord of the landlord’s past action and statement regarding the lease (and proof thereof if possible). Given that the landlord will have to go to court to recover any money that he/she now believes you still owe, he/she may be reluctant to do so if you can demonstrate that your lease and all related tenancy obligations toward the landlord were concluded with the landlord’s full consent several years ago. (If the landlord believes that you engaged in a misrepresentation of relevant facts or did anything else that might have induced him/her to permit you to leave when he/she otherwise would not have, then the landlord can always go to court and explain what happened to a judge.)