Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Georgia

Rental property deliquent on mortgage

I currently live in a rental property in Georgia. We have received notice that the owner of the property was deliquent in his mortgage payments and the property could go into foreclosure. We have sent a certified letter to the owner saying that unless we received proof that the mortgage has been brought current we were witholding rent, due to the fact that we could be forced to move due to a pending foreclosure. We are willing to pay for what we owe and future rent payments once we receive the proof. We were given the advice to do this by others that we know that have been in the same situation. Now the landlord is refusing to show any proof, wants us to call his mortgage company if we want proof, and demands the rent be paid no matter what. Are we within our rights taking this action? We do not want to move, but we want to protect ourselves in case we have to move if we receive a dispossessory notice. We feel that if we are forced to move due to foreclosure, all the money that we had been paying in rent was fraudently taken by the landlord since he was not paying the mortgage. Is this right? Thank you.


Asked on 4/06/08, 10:53 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

Re: Rental property deliquent on mortgage

No, you are not correct. Your obligations and the landlord's obligations are found in the lease. You are attempting to impose additonal obligations on the landlord, and threatening to not perform your obligations. Had you wanted such protections, since any property "could" go into foreclosure and this is a basic risk of renting, you could have requested them during negotiations. Noticably missing from your post is any indication whatsoever that the landlord is not performing his obligations under the lease, or has indicated he will not do so in the future. For the same reasons, you also fail to show any fraud or any damages whatsoever. A breach of your agreement may lead to a disposessory, lawsuit, collections, etc., against you. You ARE correct in being concerned and diligent. Check the county foreclosure listings at least once a month (ads must run for a month) and if you see the propert listed, follow up near or just after the foreclosure date, preferably before you pay rent for that month in case the owner no longer owns the property. You will likely get plenty of notice prior to a dispossessory. Normally, the lender or purchaser will call to discuss. You may then have a claim against the landlord for his breach of the lease. Until then, however, if the landlord is complying with his obligations, you should as well.

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Answered on 4/06/08, 11:19 am


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