Taking Back A Verbal Agreement
From a legal standpoint, where do I stand?
I own a condo in Miami that I rent short term. I verbally and in emails agreed to lease until March 25. Payment was accepted for the first two months (until Feb 25) so a lease was signed until Feb 25 to be extended after payment was recieved for the last month. Due to unforseen circumstances I cannot keep the verbal agreement to lease until March 25 and have told the tenants to stay until March 1 ( the last days no charge). They are very upset and insist that they changed the lease until March 25 and will not be leaving. Do I have legal grounds to evict if I am going to occupy the unit myself. I appreciate any feedback.
Tough one....
Legally they may have a leg to stand on with the emails. These can show written intent, even without a signed contract. Additionally it may take you the month to evict them (you are only talking about one month right?).
I think you better get legal advice on this one.
[addsig]
Depending on what you stated in the original lease and in the email, you may be out of luck.
Evidence in written form is the worst. It can't be successfully denied nor can it be taken back.
"A mans word is his bond" especially in writting......
If the contract was ratified, or agreed to, in an email, or by fax, the law says that's a written agreement and enforceable as such.
Oral agreement only? Worth just exactly the paper it was not written on...nothing.
Oral agreements are not binding on any real estate agreements anywhere in English speaking world to my knowledge.
I would be careful myself. Emails can help or hurt. I think they will work to your disadvantage on this one. YOu are only talking about one month. As was stated by someone else, the eviction process will take that anyway not to mention the headache. For such a short period of time, I would stay amicable with my tenants. If it is that important to you, spend a little time helping and understanding their situation. Too many times people are confronted with a problem.... with a problem comes tention.... with the tention comes anger... etc..etc..etc. Confront someone with a problem AND alternative solutions... a whole different "all game"..... "Perceived" problems seem to be resolved with alot less stress.
I too agree with the above posts. Eviction will take at least a month. It's best to talk to them and maybe neg with them. It may be to your advantage to assist them with finding and paying some kind of relocation expense. It's a educational expense, but you may get them to move on a timely basis. Good Luck