SHOULD I pay any rent at all?
Short version: We never agreed on terms, and I never moved in. His demands were nuts, so I backed out. Do I owe anything at all? Long version: I thought I'd agreed to move in to a shared 5 bedroom house with 4 existing roommates, into a room that would be available once the master tenant moved out and into another room. I met with the last potential roommate and told the master tenant I wanted to move in, and we settled on giving him a week ('till the 9th of May) to move rooms and I expected to move in and pay rent from that date. Yesterday (Monday, May 3) I went over to drop off a check to seal the deal, and the master tenant demanded I pay from the first. He thought I'd said some things during our interview discussions to indicate that I'd pay from the first. I don't think even think the things he claims were said would have set that expectation: When I first saw the place Apr 26, he said that he wanted to get it filled ASAP - with someone who could take it from the 1st if possible. He asked when I could move, and I said I didn't have to give 30 days notice, and yes I could afford to pay double rent for the time it took to move my stuff. We didn't discuss a lease/occupancy time period other than him requiring (and me verbally agreeing in principle to, that is saying "I'd be ok with") a 1-2 month mutual no-bad-feelings trial period, and a stated monthly rent. Also, he mentioned wanting a tenant to move in ASAP, by the 1st if possible. Seems to me that if you expect someone to pay rent from before they move in, your expectation isn't reasonable if you have no rental agreement, no rent in hand, no clear oral agreement, and the delayed move is because the room is fully occupied and needs to be cleared out. I don't want to live with someone who is so unclear on the distinction between what he wants and what others agree to provide, and so adamantly asserts his needs as primary. (There were prior warning signs I knew about (e.g. loud arguing and violent behavior toward a lover, and an incident where he put his needs first, above those of the group) but talks with the roommates had for a time convinced me he wasn't excessively demanding of others and a good communicator.) Because this particular kind of personality conflict (over unreasonable expectations) is very bothersome to me, I don't want to move in anymore, as I feel it's likely to recur often, and told him that. He is repeatedly calling, chatting, and emailing (on and off Facebook), telling me not to f*** him, to not s***w him over, and not mess up his relationship with his landlord, and is insistent that pay him a month's rent because I agreed to move in. SHOULD I pay? If so, what? There's nothing material in writing - just him offering the place, the rent, and me texting that I wanted to move in. No consideration has changed hands, and I don't think there was a 'meeting of the minds' for an oral agreement either. I ask because he is so adamant that I pay that I'm questioning my own judgement. I'm also curious about any legal thoughts or opinion, but we have friends in common, so a legal answer that doesn't take ethics into consideration isn't what I'm looking for. Legally, everything is in my favor: no written agreement, no oral agreement, no consideration, and < $1000 in question. Venue: California. So legally, it's a no-brainer, IMO. I think there's a decent argument that I pay for three days rent - from when I said I would move in 'till I realized the terms were not agreeable - and that a perfect gentleman would offer to pay that - and that a perfect gentleman would refuse the payment. Should I pay that? What do you think I should do, and why? Debdeb: "The guy who is actually preventing you from moving in sooner thinks you should pay for 8 days of the month that he occupied your room. Is that right?" Yup. Just to be complete, I should mention that after a lengthy battle (several long phone calls) he did say that though I needed to pay the full rent now, he'd give me back $100 or so, or more if he was able to rent it out before the end of the month. And after I got so fed up I said I wasn't moving in, he did offer to accept just the rent from the 9th to the end of the month. <sarcasm>Generous, don't you think?</sarcasm> Anyway, thanks for the reality check. I really appreciate it.
Renting & Real Estate - 1 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I think you'd be nuts if you did move in! You don't owe him anything. He's crazy out of control, and you don't need his drama. Do not pay him anything. To pay him anything at this point would be an admission that you agreed to move in under whatever conditions he's currently claiming exist. Change your phone number and whatever else you have to change so he can no longer pester you.
2 :
There's a lot of words there, but what I think I see is that you agreed to move into the room on May 9, expecting to pay partial rent in May starting that day. Nothing is signed. The guy who is actually preventing you from moving in sooner thinks you should pay for 8 days of the month that he occupied your room. Is that right? He wants to fill the room by May 1 if possible, but he won't be out of it until May 8. What am I missing here? How could anyone think you should pay for the time when he prevented you from occupying the room? I don't think you owe anything, and I'd stay away from this demanding bozo.
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