Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Utah
Double Contracts
We signed a rental agreement to rent a house. We decided not to rent it after we signed the contract. The landlord found someone else 3 days later to sign a new contract. Are we legally bound to pay anything to the landlord because he found a new renter so quickly?
He is refusing to give us back all of our deposit and we want to take him to small claims court if possible.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Double Contracts
Generally, you are only required to pay him for his losses because of your breach. In this case it would be the costs, if any, he incurred to advertise for the extra three days. You may have a problem, however, if the rental contract has a liquidated damages section which requires you to forfeit your deposit if you breach the contract. In any event you should file in small claims. He might be willing to give you a refund. If not, let the judge decide.