Can a lien be filed on our home for a broken lease in another state?
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Can a lien be filed on our home for a broken lease in another state?
My husband and I own a home out od state; we moved from there for his job. While living there we rented a home for a 1 year lease. After 6 months into the lease my husband lost his job and we moved back home. We broke our lease; we were just going through an individual and not a property management company. He says we now owe $1400 which is a bunch of ridculous fees, and that if we don’t pay he will have a lien put on our home we own here. Legally, can he do this?
Asked on May 29, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Yes, he can potentially do this. To do so, he would first have to sue you and win (assuming that you did not sign anything giving him a security interest in your home or otherwise giving him the right to impose a lien without going through court), getting a judgment in his favor. If you then do not pay the judgment, one of the mechanisms a judgment creditor (the winning plaintiff) has for recovering the money due him is to have the courts put a lien on real property you own. The fact that he is in a different state makes things a bit slower, more complicated, and more costly for him, but does not prevent this: the courts of one state will respect and enforce the lawful judgments of the courts of another state.
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