Can a landlord renting an illegal apartment sue for back rent?
Question Details:
If a landlord is collecting rent illegally, without the knowledge of the tenant, can he sue the tenant for unpaid rent? I am the tenant in this case; I recently moved out of an apartment that I lived in for a year. There was no lease signed, and the landlord is now attempting to sue me for unpaid rent. I did not find out it was an illegal apartment until after I left (the landlord does not have the required certificate to legally collect rent, the apartment is in violation of code and the landlord has led the city inspector to believe the apartment has been vacant.) Can he sue?
Real Estate Law Answers
If you can prove that the landlord told the city inspector that the apartment was vacant, and the landlord got some benefit from that (such as not getting fined for a violation), then you can stop the landlord in his tracks: it's called judicial estoppel.
A person who takes a certain position on the facts, in some sort of official proceeding, and gains a benefit from that position, can't turn around and, in another official proceeding (such as a lawsuit), take a position that can't be reconciled with the position in the first proceeding. Playing games with the facts is not permitted in court!
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