Walk It Through: The Apartment That Was Not Ready
A move in day with no keys, a hotel, a written notice, and a question about children.
On move in day, a family arrives with a truck. The landlord says the last tenant has not left yet.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A family whose new apartment is still occupied. A holdover suit against the old tenant, the cost of storage, and a federal fair housing complaint are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Rent abatesRent stops being owed for the time the landlord fails to deliver possession, until possession is delivered.
- Familial statusA family's makeup, including having children, one of the grounds on which housing may not be refused or offered on different terms.
- Release to sueThe commission's permission to take a civil rights complaint to district court, which may be requested once the complaint has been on file 60 days.