I need to Rant-Bad Landlady!!

[Cyrus2005]

So we have lived in this rental house for almost a year now. My husband talked to our landlady "Cynthia" a few weeks ago. Per our lease, it says we can go month to month when our year is over. DH explained that we are building a new house, but it will not be ready until September or so. Cynthia said we could rent a couple of extra months, but we need to be out before fall so she can get new "caretakers". Fair enough. Well...last week we get an email from her stating that she has a tenant that has "been waiting a year" to get in and we need to be out by the end of May!
OKAAAAY, so what do we do now?? So in a panic, we rent a storage space and moved almost everything out last weekend, so we can finish the interior painting we agreed to do.
So, today, I am taking a break from painting. I read the paper and there is an ad our house is for rent! So she totally lied to us about having a tenant ready to go!?!
In the meantime, we have managed to find a duplex that will let us rent month to month as needed, but it won't be ready until July 1st! So there is an awkward 30 days where we are going to be HOMELESS!! OMG!! We have reserved a room at the local HOTEL for the next month. We are not supposed to have the kitties in the room, but I don't have a choice, they are my babies! We do not have any family near us, and none of our new friends here own a home. (It is very expensive here, ski resort town) Most condos do not allow pets unless you own. We aren't even supposed to have our cats in the next duplex we are renting, so we have to hide them as much as possible. I am so stressed!
Cynthia just called DH and said she has several appointments this evening to show the house, could we please take Cyrus somewhere else while she shows it? (He gets protective of the house without us there, Good Boy!!)
My DH says do not confront her about this, just be nice because we want our deposit back. Grrr! I want to hear what she has to say about this! My sister, her DH, and my Nephew and Niece were all going to come out for a summer visit the end of June, and I had to call and cancel THEIR vacation. :( This has messed up so many of our plans already. I just don't understand why she won't allow us to stay one more month, it seems like it would be easier for a lot of reasons. :( We are so disappointed she won't work with us. I don't think we did anything to upset her...maybe it is good to get out of this place, but it sure is stressful in the meantime!

Thanks for letting me get it out!!! I feel better already.

 

[crowpete]

Man she sounds like a real peach :( Sorry this is not going well for you! But just think in a few months you will be in your own home and wll NEVER have to put up with people like that again!!! I will also be sending you some positive "hiding the cats" vibes Keep us posted on how everything goes.

P.S. Maybe the next people that rent her house will trash it and she will wish she never kicked you out early!!! Just a thought

 

[punchinella]

My DH says do not confront her about this, just be nice because we want our deposit back.

Good luck with this...I have never received a deposit back and I take very good care of my surroundings. But it seems they can always find a reason.

And I understand how you feel. I may have endured the worst landlord in history. After going two summers without A/C, and locks that didn't lock, and mold/mildew problems (and on and on and on); we finally moved out (after a much heated battle with landlord). Buttwipe later turned around and sued us for damage to his property. Damage that we had been complaining about, which prompted us to move!!! All I can say is he better hope he never runs into me in a dark alley

 

[KeiraGirl]

I'm sorry about all the stress. I've had my share of bad land "people".

It does seem odd though that she is so eager to get you guys out. She should let you guys stay there, just ask that you keep it clean, since she will be showing the house. She'd be collecting money this way instead of having it sitting waiting for someone to rent.

Hope things work out.

 

[EAO76]

I hate dealing with landlords! I have some stories too. Owning a home definitely pays off!

Here is where being honest didn’t pay off! If you would have never mentioned that you were building a house she probably wouldn’t have asked you to leave. She probably started freaking out about getting another lease signed. I bet she was concerned you were just going to surprise her and leave early. Too bad you didn’t just wait until your house was built and then give her a 30 day notice.

I hope you get your deposit back. She doesn't sound like a very easy person to deal with! Good luck & congrats on your purchase!!!

 

[Cyrus2005]

the cats appreciate the vibes!!
Why are landlords so rotten to good people? That is just crazy the stuff people do to each other.
We just need a short term home that allows dogs and cats. This is a very dog friendly town, but not many landlords love cat owning renters. The home we are currently renting is owned by a woman who is the Humane Society of NW Colorado president, so she understood the problem we were having. Now it doesn't seem she cares much at all.
The uncertain part of renting this duplex in July, is the house is for sale. If it sells, we may be out a home AGAIN!!! I am not going to think about that until it happens...

 

[warmellie]

I feel for you. We've had the horrible landlord experience. Our last straw was a backed up sewer line that ended up flooding the basement which was also the bedrooms. We had complained for six months with no action. Washing clothes was impossible but you could use the toilets or shower until, my son left a toilet running and it had to go somewhere.

My dh would not allow me to do what I wanted to do which was break out into a female version of the hulk as my eight year old says. I'm slow to blow my top, but when I do, you better get out of my way.

After the ordeal, the landlady told her sister (a friend of ours and another reason I didn't go postal on them) that she hoped we didn't badmouth them and we were the best tenants they ever had. well, I just tell people if you rent short term from them, you are good, but don't stay ten years!! (my dh wouldn't move until the flood...drove me nuts )

 

[TossBranAbi]

It sounds like you already explained the situation to her but would it hurt to invite her over for coffee or whatever and have a heart to heart with you. Reiterate the situation to her and let he know the jam you are in. Tell her you saw the ad in the paper and ask her why she is so eager to get you guys out. If she is worried about you up and leaving before your house is done, maybe work something out with her to pay the rent in advance so she feels secure or even having a 4 or 5 month lease wrote up instead of another year. It sounds as though she is scared of what could happen because you are out of lease and maybe she feels she has no control because of that. If she is the president of the humane society there, I would hope she would have a heart.
Sometime confronting the situation face to face with everyone can give you more answers and make her have a change of heart. The most she can say is no, right?

Also, if things end up ugly, you may want to check your rights as a tenant, she may not have the authority to kick you out with such short notice. Just a thought.

 

[SweetCody]

So sorry you are having such an ordeal. I just recently went through all this with a landlord from hades. She lived in her own universe, I called it Kathyverse. We had started renting from this sweet old man who was a friend of my fathers. Just the nicest old country man with good old southern hospitality. We never signed a lease and were allowed to do anything that we wanted with the house. Well the old man died about 6 months ago and left everything to his two children jointly and undivided. Bad idea. His son (nice man) talked us into moving into the old home place it had about 1400 more square feet for the same amount in rent, and I believed at that time that it was a good move for my family. I again got the go ahead to repaint and decorate anyway I wanted(had to cover up some very 70's design) We also got permission to put up a fence (temporary one) and of course Cody was very welcome in the house. About 4 months into it little sister just started getting greedy and bossy and brother just did what he could to not have to put up with her anymore. Gave up 40 acres the family business and his parents house, just so he wouldn't have to deal with her ever again. Unfortunatly this meant that she was my soul landlord and she wanted the fence gone, the dog chained outside and wanted to raise our rent by $400 a month,and an 18 month lease. Well stuck in a horrible situation with about 2 months (the time for all their legal work to be settled)to find somewhere else to live we decided it was time to delve into home ownership. I have moved everything I own 2 times in 6 months, not fun, but I can honestly say I am not moving again for at least 15 years.

 

[Cyrus2005]

Oh my, there are so many horror stories about bad landlords!!
My DH was able to talk to her in person yesterday. She told him the person that had been "waiting a year" for the house found another place and the deal fell through. DH said she said it very weakly, and he could tell she was lying to him. So he then asked her if we could stay another month, and she told him she wouldn't do that for us, as she prefers to change tenants in the Spring. (?) So we are back to where we started. DH said he did make sure he stressed to her we are being forced into a hotel because of this, and she just shrugged her shoulders like "oh well, too bad, not my problem". We think she is money motivated, as the ad for the house says the rent starts at $200 more a month than what we are paying, so I am thinking she is counting her "extra" dollars by not letting us stay.
All I can say is that when we get into our new place, I will always offer a room to any friend who needs one. And that includes BW members!