Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Lost a friend on facebook... Tear.

When you share a kitchen or a bathroom with your landlord. You are not under the regular landlord and tenant responsibilities. As this is the case, contract law is used to decide disputes with such arrangements.

Now, I decided to forego a written agreement for a couple of reasons. First, I didn't want to be bound by the agreement. If the term of the agreement was for a year, I may be bound to that agreement despite the way that I may or may not get along with my co-habitant. I wanted to protect myself. Second, I wanted to sell the room and a month to month type of verbal arrangement becomes much more appealing to renters. From new jobs to lifestyle changes, there are a thousand reasons for why a tenant wants the flexibility to move.

When my co-habitant decided to move out, I want not upset that she was actually moving out. In fact, she barely lived in the house and did not make the house feel like any sort of home. In a way, she was the perfect tenant; because, she paid rent; and, she didn't require space for food, did not dirty dishes, or even breathe my air. That being said, it was always an awkward feeling when she came home and didn't talk to me or my roommates.

The understanding that I had with her was that we were under a month to month type of arrangement and all that she had to pay for was rent. Utilities were included. She understood that month to month meant that she could move out at any point. She was right because we never had a written deal, and it would be difficult for me to prove anything else. If she had gotten a new job, decided that she could no longer afford the room, or even another decent reason, I would have less pissed off about it.

I thought she had pulled a classless, gutless, and cowardly move by announcing 10 days before the end of the month by announcing her termination over a facebook message. She stated in her message "I will be vacating the backroom of 75 Arlington at the end of November. I have been looking for something more private." More private? Give me a break. You agreed to the room knowing that it was at the back of the kitchen. If you had a need for privacy, you would have never taken the room. If it was a serious problem, why not discuss that you are looking for a new place in the meantime? I just wanted to be informed. I do not want to lose rent money.

Since she pissed me off, I decided to retaliate. Nobody fucks with me like that and thinks that they can feel good about themselves. I decided to threaten to sue her. I told her that she owed me two months rent due to the fact that she did not give me 60 days notice. She fought back claiming that we did not have any written agreement. I told her that a verbal agreement was reached and I have evidence. She had terminated our "non-written" agreement over facebook. Verbal agreements are enforceable and I intend on taking her to small claims court.

She then quoted a definition of a verbal agreement. I will finish my discussion using the last two messages that were exchanged between us. I have subsequently lost a facebook friend. Tear.

Krystine:

"And I quote:"Three Elements of a Verbal ContractIn order to be considered valid, a verbal contract must contain three elements: offer, acceptance, and consideration.

• Offer: The person making the offer in a verbal contract must communicate their intent to enter into a contract. A verbal contract is not considered valid if all parties do not agree to the terms of the offer. Also, verbal contracts are only valid for a specified period of time and not indefinitely.

• Acceptance: A verbal contract is not valid until the offer is accepted. The acceptance of a verbal contract occurs when the person to whom the contract is offered voluntarily indicates agreement to its terms and conditions.

• Consideration: In addition to an offer and acceptance, verbal contracts must contain consideration. This means that each side must give the other something of value for the agreement to be binding. In most verbal contracts, this is an exchange of money, such as a down payment. However, in some cases, it is not money but a promise that is exchanged."There has been no verbal agreement.

We discussed Rent, payment and when. That does not imply a notice. Agreement by omission is unethical!I am done communicating this with you. The Landlord and Tenant Board has backed me and says I have nothing to worry about, legal or otherwise and I am free to move out at the end of the month. I will have vacated the room by November 30th.

Krystine, Tenant."

Chad:

"This will be my last statement.

First, there has been a verbal agreement by virtue of the offer and acceptance of the terms of what we had discussed. You wouldn't have sent me a notice of intent if there had been no agreement. Consideration was your promiss to pay me on the first of every month. Therefore, a verbal agreement has been reached and I have evidence from these facebook messages.

Second, unethical? I have not hidden anything from you. If you were unclear about any elements, you certainly did not address them. The fact that you told me over facebook your intention to leave with only 10 days notice is classless, sneaky, cowardly and malicious. 60 days is standard. I may have been more forgiving if you had of come to me directly when things weren't working out, but you have given me no indication whatsoever and now I'm about to lose out on rent money. I'm prepared to fight for this.

Finally, the Landlord and Tenant board has no jurisdiction over this matter, and frankly, I do not care what they have to say. I will seek my own legal advice, and you can be sure that I will follow that advice.

Have a nice day,
Chad, Landlord

P.S. Please be sure to ensure the property is vacated in the same condition you inherited it. Otherwise, you will be billed."

2 comments:

Angela5 said...

I can't believe you threatened to sue this girl even though you KNEW you had very shaky legal grounds to stand on and never had any REAL intention to do so.

You basically just tried to scare her into paying you another month's rent!

I'm giving her props right now for not buying it.

Chad said...

My intention was not to collect anything from her. I'm not willing to let someone take advantage of my generosity by not forcing a real lease on them. All I asked for was a decent amount of notice or warning and she disrespected that. Not only by the short notice, but doing it on facebook. I have no qualms trying to ensure that she knows that she pissed me off. She deserves no credit for acting cowardly and unprofessionally.