What constitutes a valid lease?

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What constitutes a valid lease?

I signed and emailed a lease agreement with an apartment complex 4 months ago that was to begin this month. They did not provide me with a signed copy of the lease until I went to their office asking to downgrade the lease. When I asked for a copy, they pulled the lease from audit and quickly signed it in front of me. It states, “This Lease will become effective only when signed by the Resident, Guarantor and (name of the complex) representative.” It also states in the lease under the section for deposit, “A total of $300.00 must be received by (name of the complex) before this Lease can be executed.” However, I never paid the deposit. Can I walk away? Is this an executed lease?

Asked on June 11, 2015 under Real Estate Law, Texas

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 8 years ago | Contributor

It most likely is a valid lease:

1) They sent you the lease, which you signed; they then signed after that (when you asked for a copy), even if not immediately after. Nothing in the language you quoted indicated that they had to sign right away or immediately after you. Therefore, when they did sign it, it then became effective.

2) Even without them signing, generally when party A sends a contract (lease) to party B and B signs it, the law allows the contract or lease to be enforced against B, who signed the document thereby accepting the offer to enter into a contract extended by A in sending them the contract (lease).

3) The deposit would be for their benefit, not yours; the party for whose benefit some term or condition exists has the right to waive (or give up) performance of that term or condition, so they could wavie the requirement for the deposit and hold you to the lease.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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