Written leases protect tenants from landlords

I have rented part of a house for several years, paying monthly without a written lease, and recently the landlord significantly raised the rent. Can he do this?

Yes. If you don’t have a written lease, your rent is locked in for only the term equal to how often you pay. If you pay weekly, your lease is for a week; pay monthly and it is for a month, and so on. Since your lease is month to month, you can be asked to leave, with 15 days’ notice, after just a month. Similarly, the terms of your lease, including the rent amount, can be changed just as frequently. Fortunately, if you are not happy with the change, you can also bail out with the same short notice.

I have a written lease, and the landlord now wants me to pay the water bill too. The lease states it is his responsibility. Do I now have to pay the water?

No. The terms of the lease are enforceable by both the landlord and the tenant and cannot be changed unless both sides agree. We pay our rent on the first of the month. The landlord just sold the apartment on the fifth. Does the previous landlord need to pay us back for the rest of the month?

No. The proration of your rent is between the old landlord and the new one. The prior owner should have turned your rent and security deposit over to the new landlord, who is now responsible, since he is your land lord now. Your lease does not change just because the home’s owner does. Every thing should remain the same except for whom you write the check to.