Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia
Increase in permanent residents rent increase
I am renting a 5 BR house in Fairfax County from a landlord who only has one rental property. There are 2 signatures on the lease. There is a section that says ''Tenant will use said property as a single family residence for ___ persons and for no other purpose or additional number of persons whatever...'' The number was not filled in by the landlord. There is an addendum to the lease stating ''Any increase in permantent residents without the prior written permission of the Landlords and subsequent increase in monthly rent (ie, $375 per person, child or adult) is cause for cancellation of the lease''. We have 2 temporary roommates living (1 has been here for 1 week and the other for 2 weeks) in the house and my landlord has requested an additional $375 per person in rent while they are here. I believe that the lease does not state a number of baseline persons so we should not have to pay the additional rent. Would this hold up in court?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Increase in permanent residents rent increase
The baseline number, as you have referred to it, is the number who were to occupy the premises at the time the original lease was signed by you and the landlord, and which was understood by both you and the landlord to be the number of persons living in the house at the time your occupancy commenced.
For any number of persons beyond this baseline number occupying the premises, the landlord is
entitled to invoke the provision in the addendum and charge you, accordingly. (The fact that the
baseline number was not actually written by the landlord in the alloted space means nothing in terms of this particular issue. What counts is what was in the minds of the lessor (landlord) and lessee (you) at the time the contract was signed.)
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
