Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia

We are renting a house from a private owner.Due to financial problems we were unable to pay the rent.Rather than the owner evicting us they gave it over to a landlord company to handle.The new company came by and gave us a letter stating when the rent is due and to make all future payments to them starting the next month.They also had a letter under it with the past due rent and a demand for it to be paid to them.We never signed a contract with them at all.A week later the new landlord filed an eviction notice and refused to accept any arrangements to pay from us.Is it legal for the new landlord to evict us and get a judgement for past due rent and we didnt owe them (we owe the private landlord). We were not allowed to make the Feb payment (which would have been the 1st payment to them) since the eviction notice was filed and we owed past rent to the owner.So we are trying to find out if a judement is legal from the new company. Rather than owner doing the eviction they hired someone else to do it.


Asked on 3/10/11, 8:21 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

You are in a place where you have not paid your rent. You are not entitled to do that. Move before your stuff is tossed on the street. Possibly, if you do that and stop acting foolishly by staying when the eviction has been filed, the chances that you will also have a monentary judgment against you will be reduced (or at least the amount may be smaller). In staying you are guaranteeing they will have to go to court, and the judgment against you will be larger as a result.

Of course a landlord can employ a management company (and many landlords do so).

The sooner you move the better this may turn out.

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Answered on 3/10/11, 8:52 pm


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