Question: I signed a one year rental agreement for a townhome last March. The Property Manager signed the lease and for three months I was sending my rent check to that manager. Just about a week ago, however, I received a letter from the manager advising that his services were no longer requested by the owner, and that my security deposit had been transferred to the landlord. I was instructed to pay future rent to the owner.
Am I still under contract? There is nothing in the lease agreement that refers to the owner? Can I legally vacate the property prior to the end of the one year lease? Is the owner obligated to return my security deposit? And -- perhaps more importantly -- can the landlord ask me to leave, since I am not under contract?
Answer: Are you trying to find an excuse to get out from under your lease? The bottom line is that you are a tenant, and the property owner is your landlord. Your lease is perfectly valid.
The property manager was an agent for the owner of the townhome. While the manager should have specifically stated in your lease that this was being signed on behalf of the owner, this omission does not in any way invalidate your lease.
You signed a one year lease and you are legally obligated to remain in the property and pay rent for the full term of that lease. I suspect that if you carefully read all of the fine print in that document, you will see that while you cannot assign the lease or sublet the property, the property manager (and the landlord) most likely has the right to assign the lease to someone else.
And, in reality, even if you take the position that the lease is only between you and the property manager, now that the manager's services have been terminated, the lease has been assigned back to the true owner.
Accordingly, you should make sure that you promptly pay the next month's rent directly to the owner. It might be a good idea to send a cover letter with your rent check, advising the landlord that you are the tenant. You should send that letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, and also enclose a copy of the property manager's notice of termination.
When you signed the lease, you gave the property manager the first month's rent as well as a one-month security deposit. You should also confirm with the landlord that he, in fact, has received those funds from his former property manger.
Assuming that you remain in the property for the full year, and that upon vacating the premises, there are no damages, the landlord is obligated to refund your security deposit. Some jurisdictions - like the District of Columbia - require that this deposit bear interest, which is to be returned to you along with the security deposit.
But let's get back to my first comment: are you looking to get out from under the lease, so that you can buy something now while mortgage interest rates are still extremely low?
If that is your objective, you should discuss this personally with the landlord. Perhaps he too would like to take advantage of the hot real estate market and sell his property. While you and the landlord are contractually obligated under your one year lease, there is absolutely no prohibition to terminating the lease if both sides are in agreement. The landlord might be willing to let you out of the lease if you give him a reasonable notice period -- perhaps 30 or 60 days.
But, as you have described the situation, there is a binding lease between you and your landlord. You must continue to pay your rent, and your landlord cannot ask you to leave. Generally speaking, in most jurisdictions, even if you are in default on your lease (for example you have not paid your rent) a landlord does not have the right to exercise "self-help." He cannot change the locks and throw your belongings out on the street. In order to properly -- and legally -- evict you, the landlord must take you to the appropriate Landlord-Tenant Court in the jurisdiction where your property is located, and get a court order requiring that you vacate the property.
