Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Kansas

I signed a 6 month rental lease on a duplex on June 30th. I paid the first month rent and the deposit before moving in. After 3 weeks weeks, i found out the people in the duplex next to me was going through court proceedings for a meth charge. There was suspicious activity going on at the duplex and since I am a nurse and am very much against drugs I decided I had to move out. I gave notice on the 22nd of july that i would be moving out and gave a date of july 28th as my final date there. I informed the land lord that if they had someone interested in looking at the place then they were more than welcome to show it at any time. On the 23rd I was contacted by the land lady wanting to know when I would be out that they had someone interested in renting the place. I again stated i would be out by the 28th. During the course of the conversation the land lord told me that the people wanting to move in had no place to store their belongings. I told the landlord since i would not be living there while moving out that the new tenants were more than welcome to store their belongings in the back bedroom and the smaller bedroom until i could get things out. On the 24th at 5pm i stopped by the duplex to get some things and discovered that the new tenants had completely moved into the duplex. The front door was unlocked when i got there, I had furniture still in the duplex and they had set the a/c on 70 as i had it shut off. I called the land lord and voiced concern that someone was in there while it was still my place. I was informed that the people had nowhere to stay and was told they could stay there. I then informed the land lord that i would move all my belongings out of the duplex the next morning which was the 25th when i got of work at 6am. When i went back that morning i did discover that the new tenants stayed there overnight. they had there belongings in every room of the house except for the living room where all of my furniture was at. the land lords stopped by while i was moving things out and i told them that i would have everything out of there except for my bed frame. I had no room to haul it and my daughter was going to pick it up on the 26th. I was informed by the land lord that i needed to get all my belongings out of the house that morning and to leave the keys on the mantle in the living room for the new tenants. I did not leave the keys there and locked the house. the new tenants were then told to move my bed frame to the outside of the back of the house by the basement door and that is where my bed frame was moved to. The new tenants lived there with the utilities in my name for 3 days until i was able to get the utilities shut off on monday. I asked for my deposit back as i had not damaged the rental place and i have been told that the new tenants have not paid rent nor the deposit and i would not get my deposit back until they new tenants paid their rent and deposit. Is there anything i can legally do to get my deposit back and also and reimbursement for the last week of the month that the new tenants were allowed to live there while it was still my rental place and to get some reimbursement back for the utilities that they used under my name for those 3 days. I feel as though i was evicted as i was told to get all my things out of the rental place on the 25th even though i had paid rent until the first.


Asked on 8/04/10, 10:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony Smith LawSmith

You ask several questions. As to yrou deposit. If the landlord has not returned it to you or givien you a breack down of waht protion is being held for repirs, within thirty days of your moving out, you can sue and perhps get three times the deposit as an award.

As to the rent for the last week of the month and the three days of utilities, you may have to go afte the new tenants. If you lease called for you to pay rent each month. Yoru notice on July 22, may make you obligated for rent through the end of August. You are fortunate that the landlord is not seeking rent from you for the month of August. But, the fact that new tenants are in, may negate that debt.

According to you, the new tenants had not paid anything as of July 25th, so they may not yet have paid for the last week of July. If they had, you might be able to seek a reimbursement from the landlord. As it is, the new tennacts have gotten a windfall; free week of rent and three days of free utilities. If you sepadk with eh utiltily companies, they may switch the three days to the new tenants new account. You might get the landlord to verify this with them.

Good luck

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Answered on 8/11/10, 12:49 pm


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