Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland
my sister and I leased a home together. One day without any notice to the landlord or myself she abandoned the property and moved out her belongings stating the remaining items were trash and she specifically stated when asked about other items she replied she did not want her bed and vanity dresser she was leaving behind. The next day I changed the locks and posted a no trespassing sign and contacted the landlord. She is now demanding reentry to obtain the abandoned property she apparently sold. She also did not send the landlord the 900.00 that I transferred into her bank account on Dec 1, 2010 for my portion of the rent.
What protection or courses of action do I have to give her the bed she abandoned?
I would like to be compensated for the 9 months of rent payments she is not going to pay.
What if I cant pay the full amount of rent one month that she normally paid and my landlord takes me to court for eviction - Do I have any position?
To be compensated for the remaining rent payments
1 Answer from Attorneys
Your sister is putting you in a tough spot and you are not helping yourself any.
1. Why on earth would you give your sister $900 for rent AFTER she abandoned the house? I think it goes without saying that you probably shouldn't transfer any money to her again. Pay your rent directly to the landlord -- believe me, he won't care who he gets the rent from, as long as he gets it.
2. You must pay the ENTIRE amount of rent directly to the landlord. If the landlord does not receive the entire amount of rent due, he can (and likely will) evict you. It is not the landlord's problem that your sister moved out on you and refuses to pay rent. In all likelihood, the lease is written such that the landlord can go after you, your sister, both of you, or either of you.
3. If the landlord evicts you, he will also likely obtain a judgment against you for the amount of back due rent owed. Your only recourse will be to sue your sister to obtain her fair share.
4. If you plan on staying in the house and paying her share of the rent for the last 9 months of the lease term, you will have to sue her to recover her share. You should start corresponding with her monthly, in writing, so that there's a good paper trail that you tried (however unsuccessfully) to obtain her share of the rent, but couldn't.
5. The issue of your sister's abandoned stuff is a tough one. I'm assuming you have nothing in writing from when your sister left stating that she didn't want the stuff anymore or that she was abandoning the property. If you still have her stuff, let her take it back. If you've already sold her stuff or given it away, it's her battle and her burden in court to get it back.
If you would like additional information or have other questions concerning the specifics of your situation, please feel free to submit a question through LawGuru to me, or feel free to contact me directly at [email protected].
Best of luck.******The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client privilege.*******
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