Today my landlord sent me notice via email that he is not renewing my lease. This is less than a month before the lease ends, and the lease is rollover to another year. In the lease it states he must notify me via certified or hand delivered letter.
But really, it's his reasoning that is suspect. I love my space and have taken good care of it. When I moved in, he complained that the last tenant did not tell him about needed repairs, and told me to do so. So, I did. Sometimes he would respond defensively and I would remind him that he told me to share these things with him. Otherwise I wouldn't have.
In the email, he wrote: "In light of all the issues you have with the cottage, most all of which I do take seriously, I’ve come to a difficult decision that will have a negative bearing on us both, but admittedly more so on you. I wish it wouldn’t be so, but it can’t be helped. Your lease expires on August 31st and after a lot of thought, I’ve decided not to renew it. I don’t take this decision lightly and it isn’t a knock against you as a person or a tenant. In fact you are a good tenant, you’re just in the wrong house. As it would be with any tenant of mine, if you’re unhappy and I can’t materially change that, then I’m not going to be happy either. A situation like this is untenable.
There is no way to materially improve the buildings energy efficiency without rehabilitating the windows and rebuilding the roof structure so as to include a means of insulating it. I’ve made this assessment based on over 30 years experience of old house renovation. The distance between what the house is and what you want it to be is years apart. I cannot bridge that gap for you.
If you move out before August 31st I’ll prorate the rent to the day you leave. I haven’t seen anything inside or out that would keep you from getting all of your security deposit refunded 100%. I’ll also be glad to serve as a positive reference as you might need.
I wish things had worked out differently, but they haven’t. Please don’t ask me to reconsider, I’m not going to do that. I really wish you luck finding a place that’s more modern and with utility costs that are in line with what you need."
I am very confused. I had mentioned the cost of utilities only because I am gone and was trying to suss out why it was so expensive. Other than that everything I mentioned to him was stuff that was normal- for instance, rats had lived in the air ducts before I moved in and I asked for them to be cleaned because of the smell. I mentioned that a piece of plaster had popped out after a branch fell on the roof. That the door frame was coming away from the wall. It's an old cottage. I also always said how much I loved it, and planted a garden and flowers.
I can't help but feel like he is punishing me for mentioning things. I don't think I have much recourse but this feels so unfair and now I am scrambling to find new housing (on a PhD stipend). It's so upsetting. Just hoping for some clarification or thoughts, maybe even commiseration. Thank you.
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1dzov83/landlord_retaliating/
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