Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Michigan
Eviction for non-payment of unspecified services
Can a landlord legally evict a tenant for non-payment of rent more
that what is spcified in the signed lease?
Our landlord posted an eviction notice on our door for non-
payment of part of our rent. Our lease states that our monthly rent
is $645/mo.
We own two cats, and when we adopted them we signed an
addendum saying there would be an additional $20 a month cat
fee. However, this fee was not factored into our lease. What our
landlord is saying is that we owe $665/mo. Even though our lease
says $645. She says the lease doesn't include the cat fee. But isn't
she legally required to factor that into our lease contract and not
simply assume that we know to add 20 additional dollars a month?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Eviction for non-payment of unspecified services
It appears that the addendum you signed most likely is or would be incorporated into your lease to justify the landlord's demand for the higher rent payment. In any case, it does not appear to be a legal battle worth fighting to avoid paying the extra $20.00/month. Good luck! www.lawgreg.com
Re: Eviction for non-payment of unspecified services
Hello, and thank you for visiting us.
You indicated that you signed an "addendum" when you adopted the cats. If this is true, I doubt that you have any defense, since the addendum can be merged in with the lease to establish the higher rent.
You have a couple of options:
1. You can pay the pet fee and be done with this.
2. You can refuse to pay the rent and tell the story to the judge. If you refuse to pay the premium, the landlord will likely serve you with a summons and complaint to appear in the district court at a time and place. At the appointed time, you show up and tell your story to the judge. If you win, you win. If you lose, you would have ten days to pay the past due rent + probably $125 in court costs. So long as you pay the past due rent plus court costs within the 10 days you are entitled to stay in your apartment. If you didn't pay the rent within the ten days you could then, and only then be evicted by the sheriff, and only the sheriff.
So, the question is, do you want to take the chance with the judge for the price of $125 should you lose?
Good luck . . . and thanks for adopting the kitties - that was very nice.
Tom Weiss
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