InIndiana
11-06-2007, 11:33 PM
Hello!
Basics:
1) Signed a one-year lease. Owners were also property managers.
2) Property was sold before lease expired/terminated. Property then had a new owner and a separate property mgmt co.
3) At the end of the original lease, I negotiated a written 6 month extension with the property mgmt co.
4) After 6 month extension expired, I was not contacted to renew. I sent in my next month payment and continued to do so.
5) Property mgmt company was fired for a new property mgmt co.
6) I continued to send in my rent each month to new property mgmt co. I was never (and still have not been) contacted about my lack of a lease. I have been paying monthly for roughly the last year and a half (a few months with the old prop mgrs before they got fired and about 9 months with these new ones).
I have felt that I was grandfathered into a month-to-month because I continued paying my rent, they continued cashing my rent check, and nothing has ever been said about a lease-renewal. However, I do not understand the wording of Indiana State law specifying when a person becomes month-to-month.
One HUGE snafu that seems to have started ever since the latest property mgmt company took over is that my rent is/has always been due the 17th and then a few day grace period after that. I have received a late notice all but 2 of the last nine months (only from this newest co!) stating that if my rent was not paid in full by the 21st, eviction papers would be filed. These letters had a due date of the FIRST, not the 17th. That letter generally got posted on my door a few days before my rent was actually due in my mind (according to my original payments being in the middle of the month). This month it was posted a full 2 weeks before my rent is actually due and it states that eviction papers will be filed if rent is not paid in full by the 10th (which is before my original due date). I called the first 4 times I got this letter taped to my door (on my cell phone so it would show up on my cell records) and wrote down the list of people I talked to regarding this. I was called back and indeed, the lady told me "Wow, this is weird, I have never seen a rental agreement start in the middle of the month before". Sure...I believe that...but she did tell me "Looks like your rent is due on the 17th". In order for her to tell me this, she would have had to look at my original lease, my 6 month additional lease, and realize that no other lease followed I would think. Each time I called after that, they told me "Just ignore the late letter". After talking to 4 people that work with the mgmt co, I finally decided to just keep paying and let them figure it out. They still haven't, they've still posted the letters, and I still haven't gotten an eviction notice d/t non-payment of rent.
Main questions:
1) Have I become a month to month tenant or am I living here illegally since I have not had a written contract for the last year and a half?
2) Before the 17th of this month, I was planning on writing my property mgr to tell them that I would be vacating the apartment on the 16th of the following month. What happens if I am at that point told "You are not month-to-month and must vacate immediately"?
I have a house that I will be closing on at the end of this month (why I will be sending them the letter that states I will be leaving) and will therefore have an overlap of about 2 weeks to move my stuff. I would prefer not to have to go through an eviction hearing while I am finishing up my home-buying process.
If you made it this far, thanks!
Basics:
1) Signed a one-year lease. Owners were also property managers.
2) Property was sold before lease expired/terminated. Property then had a new owner and a separate property mgmt co.
3) At the end of the original lease, I negotiated a written 6 month extension with the property mgmt co.
4) After 6 month extension expired, I was not contacted to renew. I sent in my next month payment and continued to do so.
5) Property mgmt company was fired for a new property mgmt co.
6) I continued to send in my rent each month to new property mgmt co. I was never (and still have not been) contacted about my lack of a lease. I have been paying monthly for roughly the last year and a half (a few months with the old prop mgrs before they got fired and about 9 months with these new ones).
I have felt that I was grandfathered into a month-to-month because I continued paying my rent, they continued cashing my rent check, and nothing has ever been said about a lease-renewal. However, I do not understand the wording of Indiana State law specifying when a person becomes month-to-month.
One HUGE snafu that seems to have started ever since the latest property mgmt company took over is that my rent is/has always been due the 17th and then a few day grace period after that. I have received a late notice all but 2 of the last nine months (only from this newest co!) stating that if my rent was not paid in full by the 21st, eviction papers would be filed. These letters had a due date of the FIRST, not the 17th. That letter generally got posted on my door a few days before my rent was actually due in my mind (according to my original payments being in the middle of the month). This month it was posted a full 2 weeks before my rent is actually due and it states that eviction papers will be filed if rent is not paid in full by the 10th (which is before my original due date). I called the first 4 times I got this letter taped to my door (on my cell phone so it would show up on my cell records) and wrote down the list of people I talked to regarding this. I was called back and indeed, the lady told me "Wow, this is weird, I have never seen a rental agreement start in the middle of the month before". Sure...I believe that...but she did tell me "Looks like your rent is due on the 17th". In order for her to tell me this, she would have had to look at my original lease, my 6 month additional lease, and realize that no other lease followed I would think. Each time I called after that, they told me "Just ignore the late letter". After talking to 4 people that work with the mgmt co, I finally decided to just keep paying and let them figure it out. They still haven't, they've still posted the letters, and I still haven't gotten an eviction notice d/t non-payment of rent.
Main questions:
1) Have I become a month to month tenant or am I living here illegally since I have not had a written contract for the last year and a half?
2) Before the 17th of this month, I was planning on writing my property mgr to tell them that I would be vacating the apartment on the 16th of the following month. What happens if I am at that point told "You are not month-to-month and must vacate immediately"?
I have a house that I will be closing on at the end of this month (why I will be sending them the letter that states I will be leaving) and will therefore have an overlap of about 2 weeks to move my stuff. I would prefer not to have to go through an eviction hearing while I am finishing up my home-buying process.
If you made it this far, thanks!
