If we paid rent and deposit to move in to a house but have not been able todo sobecause the house was not ready, canwe get our money back?

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If we paid rent and deposit to move in to a house but have not been able todo sobecause the house was not ready, canwe get our money back?

We paid rent and deposit on a house but the house was not livable once we had the electric and gas turned on. So we had to stay in a hotel for 5 days. Can we request our rent and deposit back or at least be reimbursed for the hotel’s fees since we were told it was ready for immediate move in?

Asked on January 5, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Louisiana

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

If the house is now ready for occupancy, it is unlikely that you could terminate the lease and get your deposit back. However, you should be entitled to recover your costs caused by the home not being ready, assuming that a reasonable person would conclude that it was not liveable (i.e. you were not setting an unreasonably high standard; many things in law are judged by the standard of what the hypothetical average reasonable person would do or think). In a case like this, thaht would mean recovering the hotel costs. If the landlord will not voluntarily reimburse you, you would have to sue him or her for the money.

If the house continues to not be liveable for a prolonged time, you would likely have grounds to terminate the lease and recover your deposit; possibly to also get other compensation (e.g. hotel costs) as well.


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