I know my landlord is in default. do i have to still pay her

Question

I know my landlord is in default. do i have to still pay her

Answer 1

Yes.  Until title to the property changes, you owe your rent to the landlord.  Once the title changes, you will owe your rent to the new owner if you are allowed to stay.

Answer 2

your obligation to her remains.  but be advised that if she gets foreclosed, your tenancy rights end and you will get a notice to vacate the premises, normally in 30 days.

Answer 3

This is a very interesting question.  It appears from the question that no actual foreclosure proceeding has been started.  Up until that time my answer is that you must continue to pay your landlord.  Once foreclosure proceedings are started, you will likely be named as a defendant in the foreclosure proceedings and once that happens it introduces the bank into the equation.  The bank likely has the right to collect the rent, but they never do this in residential foreclosure actions.  Therefore, if I was a tenant, and if the mortgage company/bank held an assignment of rents, I might, after consultation with an attorney, withhold rental payments.  Again, I am not giving you advice, I am merely sharing my thoughts on this interesting situation.  (Sorry but I do have to CYA this.  I am not your attorney, You should consult with an attorney in your area to address this matter.)

Answer 4

Yes you do - however if you know this, I would rather see if the landlord would take action against me, and expose themself to possible fraud charge, or at the least a local newpaper article, or local t.v. report.

Here is what you do.  You open a escrow account.  You deposit the money in the escrow account, each month, do not pay the landlord.  Let the landlord take action against you.  Consult counsel this is not legal advice.  The landlord sure is not going to want to go to court and admit that they are not paying their mortgage.  Make sure that is the situation, that they are not paying the mortgage, search at the courthouse see if foreclosure proceedings began.  Then check your state laws, for how long before the foreclosure process takes, each state different.

Now if you are sure that the landlord is going to default you might get a decision in your favor that the landlord is being paid, and if is, and purposely not paying the mortgage, the landlord may be committing fraud.  This takes investigation, you'll have to know if other tenants are paying, and whether or not it is fraud, much work on your part.  If the landlord is generating enough income to pay mortgage and is not doing so on purpose, it may be fraud.

Else - yes you have to pay.

Answer 5

Do you think YOU should live rent free because your landlord is in default ?  Sorry, it doesn't work that way.  You pay your rents to your current landlord until you are informed to do otherwise by a new owner of the property.

Answer 6

Why would you think you don't have too?

You signed a contract agreeing to pay monthly for rent, no where in the contract says, you don't have to pay if they can't pay their own mortgage.

Answer 7

Your landlords personal business is hers not yours. Yes you still have to pay her. No one can expect to live for free.