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Allan Said:

who offers free legal advice in Austin, TX?

We Answered:

The Austin Bar Association has a hotline called LegalLine where you can call volunteer attorneys on the first Tuesday of every month for free legal counsel.

See their information in the link below.

Good luck to you.

Shirley George Frazier
Author and Small Business Expert

Felix Said:

Who sells the least inexpensive Renter's insurance?

We Answered:

They're ALL about $100 to $150 a month in your neck of the woods.

So the CHEAPEST one, is the one that does your car insurance - the discount off your car insurance will more than pay for your renters insurance.

Ruby Said:

is it required for you to buy renters insurance now in order for you to lease an apartment?

We Answered:

No it's not a law...simply a policy of that particular landlord.

Yes you should get it....it would be extremely foolish not to..even if not required.

Jeremy Said:

Any advice on small claims court?

We Answered:

Both Acermill & Gambit are correct in their responses to you. Many leases contain specific language to the effect that the failure of either party to enforce any provisions of the lease shall not be constued as a waiver or limitation of that party's right to subsequently enforce and compel strict compliance with every provision of this lease or something similar. Basically this means that it was the Landlord's choice as to whether to enforce the limit of liability insurance requirement. Frankly curing that defect would have taken one phone call and probably an additional cost to you of $10 maximum in the year. Many people will enter into leases prior to completing their insurance requirements and in many cases landlords are sometimes willing to accept lower limits -- this would not in and of itself cause the lease to be invalid. Further it would be up to the landlord to exercise his or her option to declare it invalid due to a breach since it was your action or lack of action (in not requesting an increase to your insurance) that would be the cause not any action on their part to you.

As a former licensed real estate agent (5 years) and a current property investor and landlord, I can virtually guarantee that if you take this matter to court, you will lose. The fact of the matter is that you breached the lease and your excuse that it was due to the insurance is just that an excuse. In terms of getting the advice from an attorney -- unfortunately some people are willing to only tell you what you want to hear so as not to waste their time. I do not see any grounds for you to state that the leasing company or property owner misrepresented anything to induce you into signing the lease.

If you still do not agree, you can wait for them to file suit against you for the damages resulting from the breach of the lease. Once you are in court as a defendent in this matter (which more than likely will be in small claims court), you can provide your arguments to the presiding judge as your defense. You can also ask that the leasing company provide evidence of how they came up with a figure of $1700 for the cost of re-letting and other charges. The minute that you breached the lease the Landlord and by extension the leasing company had a duty to mitigate their damages -- meaning that they had to try to keep their damages to the absolute minimum by making any and all reasonable efforts to obtain a replacement tenant immediately. If they are overcharging for any of these costs, the judge may decide not to grant them this high figure -- but bottom line you breached the contract and they are entitled to all reasonable damages resulting from that breach.

If I were in your shoes instead of waiting for them to sue me, I would be trying to negotiate a settlement to see if they will accept one fourth of the amount they are claiming instead of trying to cry foul. It's your choice now.

If you do still insist on a pre-emptive filing, you will need to find the Agent of Record for the leasing company/manager and the parent company in the jurisdiction where this occurred or where you plan to file suit -- the Clerk of the Court should be able to explain how or where you can look up who the Agent of Record is for both of these companies. If the Clerk cannot explain how to do this, then look this up in your state government website under Department of State or Department of Licenses & Taxation or sometimes it is listed as Consumer & Regulatory Affairs. Once you have the information, you will then need to fill out the claim noting on what basis you are claiming damages and that you are going pro se (representing yourself without an attorney). You will need to file this with the court and have notice served upon the Agent of Record. From there it will be up to the judge -- mind you in many jurisdictions they will still require that you at least try to mediate the claim prior to going before a judge -- hence my advice that you try to negotiate a mutually agreeable settlement prior to going to court.

I hope this information helps. Good Luck

Micheal Said:

Can my credit rating be affected by poor leasing practices?

We Answered:

It sounds as if you are required to carry a renter's insurance policy with liability coverage of at least $100,000. Many people do not realize that a renter's insurance policy has two major components. One component is coverage of your possessions. This part of the policy can be for whatever dollar figure that you want, within the limits that your insurance company offers. The other component is liability coverage for any damage you may cause to the apartment complexes property, whether through negligence or otherwise. The liability coverage is what your apartment complex is requiring you to have. You need to go back to wherever you purchased this coverage and have the liability limit increased to $100,000. You may want to check with the insurance company where you purchase your auto insurance. They may be able to give you more coverage for a better price.