Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Wisconsin

My landlord broke our lease by listing our house for sale before a specified time listed in our lease. What can I do?


Asked on 4/26/14, 8:16 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

JAY Nixon nixon law offices

It is doubtful that just listing a rental property for sale would violate a lease. Sale of it, however, forcing you to move, would breach most residential leases which specify a fixed term rather than month to month tenancy, entitling the tenant to damages if they end up paying more for their replacement rental of comparable living space. (That would be if the new landlord did not accept the lease--they are normally bound to existing leases for the fist six months). Even then, however, the tenant would no doubt need to sue most landlords in order to get actually get the money. Another legal requirement in all breach of contract cases is that the victim of the breach make reasonable attempts to mitigate (minimize) their damages. Those would include a prompt and complete search for replacement housing. Some moving expenses might also be a valid claim, since you would be incurring them sooner than those which you normally expected at the end of your lease.. If you lease was due to end soon regardless of the sale, then you would have been facing those expenses regardless of the breach, making your moving expenses a weaker claim.

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Answered on 4/28/14, 6:14 am


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