Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia

No Agreement Tenant painted trailer and agreed to pay for the living room carpet

Landlord and I entered a verbal agreement. I put the electricity and propane gas into my name while work was being done on the trailer. I paid to have the trailer cleaned and painted. The landlords were to pay for the paint. There were several things that transpired that caused my self alot of trouble by them talking about financial agreements infront of inappropriate persons. I gave her a signed lease. Then there was another incident and I told them I was not going to move in. They had never signed the lease and given me a copy so I felt the lease was never executed. I had also given them the money for the first months rent. I paid the painter $500 and the house cleaner $300. They gave me back $500 cash and a check for $800.05. The day I told them I was not taking the trailer I called and took the electric and gas out of my name. They rented the trailer for $150 more. They went and picked up the tank. The landlord stopped payment on the check and I had already deposited the check into my business checking account. The landlord is charging me for a reinstallation fee of the tank and will not reimburse me for the full amount of the check. What do I do?


Asked on 3/06/02, 6:52 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Hugh Wood Wood & Meredith

Re: No Agreement Tenant painted trailer and agreed to pay for the living room ca

Hmm. Bunch of rotten facts. Given the facts you posed and that you want to take some legal action, I would recommend that you sue the landlord in your local magistrate court (whichever Georgia County in which the trailer is located) for the $800.05. Then given that you have a verbal agreement to move in, but did not, how can they charge you rent? Except perhaps for the time the trailer was off the market. Think about what you have done for the Landlord, you cleaned and painted the trailer for them. Now, I cannot tell whether you had sweat equity in the deal so that your work was really worth $5,000 of repairs to the trailer or not. If the $800 was just for supplies, then sue the Landlord for the value of your improvements to the trailer -- your personal work. In fact, if you want to, you may be able to simply go to the Courthouse and record a mechanic's lien against the property for the work you did. (However, this fact pattern is iffy, because the LL did not hire you to repair the trailer. You did it on your own in expectation of moving in).

The forms at Magistrate Court are easy to fill out. Write that you improved the LL's property and you seek the "quantum merit" value of the repairs, services and improvements you made to the LL's trailer.

The top $ jurisdiction in Magistrate Court is now $15,000 not $5,000, so you should be able to do this own your own in Magistrate Court. Also, if the LL is a corporation, Inc. LLC, etc., she will have to get a lawyer to represent her. Good Luck Hugh Wood

Read more
Answered on 3/06/02, 9:10 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Real Estate and Real Property questions and answers in Georgia