Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Wisconsin
Termination of lease prior to date specified
Our landlord has given us sixty days to vacate our home. He has given us until the 30th of June even though our lease states we are the tenants until the 31st of October 2000, because he has sold the property. We have always paid rent on time, never caused damages, and never been a nuscience in our community. He has given us three choice; he will buy us out of our lease for $1500, the new owners will continue our lease but we will be subject to weekly inspections, or we can sue him. We do not want to sue, as we cannot afford a lawyer. We do not know what to do but will agree to move by the 30th if, we live there the last two months rent-free, we get our security deposit back intact, and all other funds be returned that have been ste aside for us by the landlord. Do you think this is a reasonable settlement, or should we do something else?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Termination of lease prior to date specified
I hate to get into the middle of an obviously
heated dispute without knowing who the parties
are and what part of the state they're in.
I represent both landlords and tenants in real
estate matters and must make sure that I'm not
involved in the case. Please send me a private
e-mail with this information and I'll be
happy to respond. As a general matter, a valid
tenancy without breach by the tenant cannot
be unilaterally terminated by the landlord
without compensation (unless your lease
gives him the right to terminate, in which
event the lease terms would control).