Landlord has forged my intials to extend my lease. What can I do?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Landlord has forged my intials to extend my lease. What can I do?
I gave a 30 day notice to my landlord on a month to month rental and was told I had signed a year lease. I reviewed my 16 page copy of the lease and did not find anything pertaining to a year lease on it. When I contacted the real estate agent and told them this they offered to send another copy to which I said yes. This second copy I recived has a completely different first page than my original to which my initials have been forged.
Asked on April 13, 2016 under Real Estate Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
They cannot legally do this. If they forged your signature, you could void the lease, since it is not valid without your signature--contracts (and that's what a lease is: a contract) are only valid if both parties agree to them, with that agreement commonly being shown by a signature (or initials). Of course, if they are prepared to lie and it is a good forgery, it may be difficult to prove that's what happened, if they should take legal action against you: i.e. the law is on your side, but in the real world, you also have to consider the quality of the possible evidence or testimony against you, and the personalities of the people with whom you are dealing and the likelihood that they would commit perjury (lie) in court.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.