THREE PEACEFUL WARRIORS WIN AN IMPORTANT COURT RULING FOR TENANTS
Kathleen Harward, Director of Student Legal Services
Issue date: 4/9/07 Section: Opinion
Student tenants, with help from Student Legal Services, won a significant victory on Thursday in Larimer County Small Claims Court! Magistrate Schwartz ruled that the landlord in the case could not enforce a written lease that purported to rent to only three tenants when, in fact, the landlord intended from the beginning to rent to more than three. The magistrate stated that the court cannot put form over substance and the court is allowed to look beyond the written lease to the true intent of the parties.
Big thanks go to the valiant students who refused to let their landlord bully them into paying full rent after their fourth roommate moved out due to an order by the City under the "Three Unrelated Rule."
Our three peaceful warriors, Maura Dunn, Anna Rivera, and Stephen Rodgers, signed a lease last fall only after several conversations with the landlord confirming the landlord's approval of a fourth roommate. All involved knew that the arrangement violated the law. In an effort to protect himself, the landlord made sure that only three of the tenants signed the City's required disclosure statement and the lease.
In January, the City investigated this group of occupants, found a violation of the ordinance, and ordered compliance within 30 days to avoid fines. The fourth roommate promptly moved out, and immediately, the three remaining attempted to negotiate a new legal arrangement with the landlord. The landlord completely refused. He took the startling position that he was not aware of the fourth roommate and he expected the remaining three tenants to pay full rent. Not appreciating this sort of treatment, the three remaining tenants gave late written notice and moved out of the house.
The landlord immediately sued for over $6,000, claiming breach of the lease. Magistrate Schwartz expressed that this is an important issue for which tenants and landlords need guidance and that it was an issue of "first impression" (one not ruled on before) for him and likely for any of the Larimer County judges. He graciously allowed Student Legal Services to present legal authority and to argue that if he enforced the written lease, he would be sending a message to landlords encouraging them to rent to as many tenants as they liked, as long as they put only three on the lease. Normally, small claims hearings proceed without attorneys, and in the rare situation where attorneys are present, their input is usually limited.
Big thanks go to the valiant students who refused to let their landlord bully them into paying full rent after their fourth roommate moved out due to an order by the City under the "Three Unrelated Rule."
Our three peaceful warriors, Maura Dunn, Anna Rivera, and Stephen Rodgers, signed a lease last fall only after several conversations with the landlord confirming the landlord's approval of a fourth roommate. All involved knew that the arrangement violated the law. In an effort to protect himself, the landlord made sure that only three of the tenants signed the City's required disclosure statement and the lease.
In January, the City investigated this group of occupants, found a violation of the ordinance, and ordered compliance within 30 days to avoid fines. The fourth roommate promptly moved out, and immediately, the three remaining attempted to negotiate a new legal arrangement with the landlord. The landlord completely refused. He took the startling position that he was not aware of the fourth roommate and he expected the remaining three tenants to pay full rent. Not appreciating this sort of treatment, the three remaining tenants gave late written notice and moved out of the house.
The landlord immediately sued for over $6,000, claiming breach of the lease. Magistrate Schwartz expressed that this is an important issue for which tenants and landlords need guidance and that it was an issue of "first impression" (one not ruled on before) for him and likely for any of the Larimer County judges. He graciously allowed Student Legal Services to present legal authority and to argue that if he enforced the written lease, he would be sending a message to landlords encouraging them to rent to as many tenants as they liked, as long as they put only three on the lease. Normally, small claims hearings proceed without attorneys, and in the rare situation where attorneys are present, their input is usually limited.
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