Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
I have a 35 year land lease that commenced in 1995 and should terminate in 2030. In 1995 it started with a$2,600 monthly payment plus $1,200 property tax payment. The lease has a cost of living clause. Up to this date, 2014, I have been current in tax payment. However, with the verbal consent of Landlord, I made the following lease payments; 1995 $31,200 per year; 1996 to 2007 at $24,000 per year; 2008 to 2010 31,200; from 2010 to this date with the verbal consent of landlord I paid property tax payments only.
Today, the Landlord has made a substantial bill of $250,000 , adding the cost of living from 1995 up to now and intends to terminate the lease unless I pay the said amount. Not once is the last 19 years Landlord has demanded verbally or in writing about cost of living increase or the shortage in rent payments that Landlord had verbally agreed to.
Do I have any legal rights to fight back. Landlord wants to sell the property and get rid of me. He is willing to forego his $250k demand if I agree to the lease termination. I do not want to terminate and I do not want to pay the $250 K. Do I have any rights?
4 Answers from Attorneys
You are going to need to take your lease to a local attorney for review.
Your rights depend upon the terms of your lease. Without a full review of the lease and its terms, it is not possible to advise you. I therefore suggest you retain an attorney to conduct a review of the lease and obtain personalized advice. Relying on public forums is likely to be penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Sure; you have the right to litigate this and defend against the lawsuit and eviction he could bring. Anybody can sue anybody for anything. Winning is an entirely different question. You may, or may not, have defenses in laches and statute of limitations on past due amounts, depending upon the terms of the lease contract. The only advice worth anything to you is to consult with a real estate litigation lawyer to review all the documents, facts and issues. If serious about hiring counsel to help in this, and if this is in SoCal courts, feel free to contact me. I�ll be happy to help fight and get the best outcome possible.
You need to have an attorney review the lease and go over this in detail with you in person. The problem with your claim of an oral modification is that oral modifications are lacking in proof when the other party disputes that the oral modification ever took place. Some contracts cannot be modified orally, and all of this would have to be explored in depth by an attorney.
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