Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

Renters backing out of signed lease shortly after signing. I leased a home to a couple and after several changes and signatures back and forth, the final signatures to every changes was completed by us on 2 Jun. On 3 Jun they didn't want the place because they finally figured out the place didn't have a higher speed Internet available. They didn't get a copy yet of the final signed version because it was taking time to go from our Realtor to theirs. Is the lease a legal contract if all final signatures where made on 2 Jun and they gave us a letter on 3 Jun that they are not leasing? Is it a valid lease when signed or does it have to be signed and delivered? Can they backout anytime before they get the copy with all signatures?


Asked on 6/04/10, 3:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Jonathon Moseley Moseley & Associates Law Firm

All of this is a little confusing.

If I understand, your question is whether the renters are bound by a question that they actually SIGNED, but they did not RECEIVE a final copy with all signatures.

Is that right?

If they signed the contract, they are bound by it, even if they were not given a copy with your signature on it. It is not relevant whether they received a copy signed by all parties.

There may be some more complicated issues if they signed the contract but did not deliver a copy with THEIR signature on it. It would be a complicated question if the signed a copy and held on to their signature and kept it to themselves.

But if you received from them their signature on the lease, then the contract is valid.

It could also be a difficult case if they notified you of their intent to cancel the contract BEFORE you signed the contract. This gets into the complicated process of "offer" and "acceptance." That could come down to details such as who wrote the last version. If you wrote the last version and sent it to them, then this would constitute an "offer" and by signing the contract they "accepted" the offer, creating a final binding contract.

On the other hand, if they sent the last version with their signature and then WITHDREW that offer BEFORE you signed their version, they could have the power to withdraw their "offer" before you had a chance to accept it. This also gets into such details as whether you actually received, in fact, their notice of withdrawal before you signed the contract.

In any event, you have an obligation to try to rent the house to someone else. You cannot "run up the bill" and then charge a tenant. YOU CAN sue them for any expenses that you suffer, including the costs of re-advertising the house, and any time that the house is empty. You can collect ALL money that you have lost by their breach of the lease.

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Answered on 6/04/10, 8:11 pm


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