Arkansas Landlord And Tenant Legal Questions

The death of the maker of the land contract does not terminate the contract. It is still enforceable according to its terms so you should continue to make the payments you are obligated to make. This might be a good time for you to try to get financing to pay off the contract and try to negotiate a discount for early payoff of the contract.... Read More

I suggest that you let the landlord know about your security concerns as soon as possible and ask him to change the lock on your door. I am curious about how you found out that you and your next door neighbor have the same lock. I think that if no one has entered your apartment using what you have learned could be a duplicate key you really don't have any other complaint than having the landlord rekey the lock on your back door. I would expect that the landlord would agree to do this at his expense and if the cost became an issue that you have the lock rekeyed and deduct the cost from your rent. Good Luck!... Read More

Anyone with the filing fee can file a lawsuit. It would then be up to the court to determine if there is a viable claim. In your case, the verbal contract should be valid assuming she agrees that what you said are the terms. You can do little to resolve this matter is your landlord does not want to. However, if she should file suit, make sure you answer the complaint and appear at any scheduled court hearings. As for her collecting attorney fees, in most jurisdictions, attorney fees, other than nominal statutory fees, are not awarded unless there is a violation of the court rules regarding frivolous pleadings.... Read More

If you had no contract in writing and only had an oral agreement to pay rent and help with the yard, you should not be required to pay for half the utilities now that you are gone. Three things to note: 1. If she is only suing you for $124, I am assuming that she will go to small claims as no attorney is going to take a case to try to collect only $124. 2. Under Missouri law, a party can only get attorney's fees if it is in the contract or by statute. Since you had an oral agreement, I do not see how you would be responsible for attorney's fees. Under Missouri law, I do not know of a statute that would give the landlord attorney's fees. I do not know the law in Tennessee. 3. If she did sue you in small claims, your argument would be that you never paid utilities and if you had canceled checks or receipts to back this up on your previous rent payments, you could show these to the judge.... Read More

It is likely that the landlord is breaking the law unless the object taken were given as compensation for the ability to repay the delinquent rent.  You should consult with a local landlord/tenant attorney to determine how best to proceed. This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.... Read More