Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Our house was sold in the middle of the lease
Recently, the house we rent was sold to the owner's sister. We had a year lease. "Bill" sold the house to his sister "Barbara" without informing us. Bill called, said he was moving out of the country and please give rent to Barbara since she lives next door. He did NOT tell us she had bought the house. Not until we asked Bill did we find out Barbara had bought the house. Escrow had already closed and our security dep. + last month's rent had been transferred to her bank account. Is that legal? Keep in mind, we had to ask for this information, it was not volunteered to us. Now we worry we won't get the deposit back. There are things wrong with house, not our fault, and we worry she will decide to withhold the deposit. She also said if we don't have the carpets cleaned, she will take off of the deposit. When we moved in, the carpets had NEVER been cleaned; we have cleaned them twice since living here. Are we just going to have to bite the bullet, or do we have some legal foundation for getting the entire deposit back? If we had known the house was being sold, we would have moved and gotten the deposit from the original owners. But, we were not given that option but were kept in the dark. What are my rights?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Our house was sold in the middle of the lease
The owner is allowed to sell the house without your consent, or prior
knowledge. The new owner is respecting your lease; you are getting your
part of the bargain.
Your rights against the new owner for the deposit are the same as your rights
against the former owner. If there is a dispute, you can file in Small Claims
Court and get a determination of whether any refusal to give back your deposit was
appropriate.
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