THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 6, 1994 TAG: 9408040483
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: LANDLORDS & TENANTS
SOURCE: William Mazel and Albert Teich Jr.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Q. I've lived in my rental house for four years and am on a month-to-month lease. I've always paid my rent on time and have no difficulties with the rental agent or the homeowner.
Just the other day, the agent sent me a written note saying I would have to leave by Aug. 31. He gave me no reason for my lease not being renewed.
I called the owner, who said she wanted me to stay in the unit. Unfortunately, she said, the agent told her I would have to leave.
I feel that the agent and the homeowner are in a dispute. The owner, I believe, does not want to pay the agent a commission for collecting the rent.
The agent has managed the property for the whole time I have lived in it. But a friend, not the agent, told me that the house was for rent.
The agent prepared the lease and collects the rent from me. What should I do?
A. The rental agent has no authority to order you from the house if its owner wants you to stay. As you have observed, you seem caught in the middle of an owner-agent dispute over commissions.
The agent says he's entilted to a commission on the rent you pay as long as you remain in the house. Under his contract with the owner, he might be correct.
During the dispute, he may have told the owner that the only way to avoid paying him a commission is to order you from the property and to find other tenants.
In any case, you should remain in the house past Aug. 31 and pay the rent as usual. If the agent refuses the rent, send it directly to the owner.
The agent may then obtain a court warrant seeking to evict you from the house. If this happens, you should subpoena the owner to make sure she appears at the hearing.
Let the owner tell the judge that she wants you to stay and that she did not give the agent the authority to evict you. This should be enough to protect you.
Homeowners who let real estate agents handle their rental property often fail to realize the extent of their liability to the agent. Usually, contracts between the two sides entitle the agent to a commision on the rent as long as a tenant obtained by the agent occupies the property. MEMO: Albert Teich Jr. and William Mazel are real estate lawyers based in
Norfolk. Send comments and questions to them at Real Estate Weekly, 150
W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510.
by CNB