What do I do

A lease must be in writing.  The texts can be a writing.  However, it is unclear if what you have adds up to an agreement.  No one does this type of deal without a writing.  You may have a claim, but how will you prove damages?  Depending on the size of your claim, it may be a small claim you can do yourself.

A great deal more information is needed to properly advise you.  But first ... a "verbal" agreement to rent a place to conduct a business intended to support you and your son?  Working only one day a week as a Zumba instructor?  I am definitely in the wrong profession.  And you definitely treated this WAY too casually to be taken seriously as a business person (or for anyone to believe you really intend to support yourself and your son this way).  Any enforceable contract (including a lease) requires an offer, acceptance of the offer, consideration [meaning, in your case, advance payment of rent], intent to be bound, and mutual agreement upon definite terms. You haven't mentioned whether you paid any rent/security for this space, or any other terms of your "rental agreement", aside from the time of your class- 9am- which you state was unilaterally changed by the person in question. If you paid no rent, you received a revocable license to use the space, which could be terminated at any time- and it was. And there's nothing you can do about it.  If the landlord got nothing out of this arrangement, you had no right to expect it would continue beyond the first class.  Any advance money received from your prospectve students should be returned to them. Your landlord is not responsible for your lost business.   If, on the other hand, you paid monthly advance rent for use of the space, you should have been served with a 30 day notice to quit, at the end of which time you would need to leave. In the alternative you could have chosen to not return to the space and any advance rent and security you paid should be returned to you, minus a pro-rated amount for your use of the space for one class. As far as your lost $500 worth of business, given that there was no written agreement that specifically anticipated lost profits, and it can't be logically inferred (e.g., if you had sold $500 worth of lesson packages BEFORE you rented the space, and the landlord knew it), the landlord is not responsible for your loss. Chalk this up to experience, and next time, before you set foot in any space with the intention of selling Zumba lesson "packages" to anybody, make sure you have a WRITTEN lease, signed by your landlord and drafted by your lawyer.  The lease shouldn't be very long and you shouldn't pay much to have it drafted by a lawyer, but it must be in WRITING. Expect to pay for the lease, and for the space, in advance.  If you are serious about supporting yourself (and your son) with a business as a Zumba instructor, then treat it seriously- or, as you just found out, YOU won't be treated seriously.