Can they increase the rent and/or evict if my lease is not up andI don’t want to sign anything untilI get proof of ownership?
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Can they increase the rent and/or evict if my lease is not up andI don’t want to sign anything untilI get proof of ownership?
I am a tenant in an apartment complex that went into foreclosure. No one came to collect rent for about 4 months. Recently some strange men came by the complex stating they owned the complex and want to collect rent for past months. I asked for verification which I still have not received. Now we receive letters given to certain tenants stating we need to sign a new lease (higher rent) and pay for water. My lease is not up. They left more letter with certain tenants that if the lease is not signed we will be evicted. I keep saying certain tenant cause I’m at work when they come to the apartment.
Asked on October 21, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Georgia
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
There is a 2010 federal law that provides that a tenant whose unit he or she is renting cannot be evicted by the new owner until the term of the lease is up. For example, if you have three (3) months remaining on your lease, you cannot be evicted unless you are in violation of your existing lease. Your lease prior to the foreclosure remains in effect until its term expires.
You need to be careful that the people who are trying to collect rent from you are actually representatives of the actual owner and not part of some fraudulent scheme.
Do not provide any rent money to the people who claim they are the property's new owner until they provide you with a certified copy of the foreclsoure deed and other proof showing that they are the actual owners. Perhaps contacting and consulting with a landlord tenant attorney by you and the other tenants would be a wise thing at this point in time to protect your interests.
Good luck.
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