Can my Landlord do this – Bait & Switch 1 week prior to move-in date?

By LDH

 I live in Montgomery County, Maryland and I believe I’m the intended victim of a bait and switch of apartments at a property run by Vista Management Company, Inc located at 1131 University Blvd, #101, Silver Spring 20902, phone:  301.649.1115.  The property that I am to move into on December 15, 2010 is The Kensington House (TKH); a mid-rise apartment complex built in 1964 and located at 10225 Frederick Avenue, Kensington, Maryland 20895.  I was informed today, Tuesday, December 7th that a 2-bedroom (5th floor) and 1-bedroom with den (9th floor) were on file as my intended new dwellings; and that there were no 3-bedroom units available by December 15th.  However, a 3-bedroom unit would be available by the first week of January 2011 at the very latest.  I was offered the option of taking the 2-bedroom unit with a six-month lease (and a increase of $50 to its standard rent) and being wait-listed for the next available 3 bedroom unit  but WOULD NOT be considered for the 3-bedroom unit coming available by early January as per Vista Management policy, upon the signing of a lease, I must reside at minimum 3 months in the 2-bedroom unit before we could be considered for the next available 3-bedroom at TKH or postpone move, now one week away and wait for the 3-bedroom unit to be renovated.  I’ve already given notice and received verbal acceptance by my current rental complex – they will not extend our time beyond December 15, 2010.    And I have no options for temporarily relocating my family in the interim –  I am the sandwich generation caring for my mother and my sister’s children. Months in advance, this move has been discussed with their respective therapists, psychiatrists, teachers, physicians and a great deal of work has gone into insuring that there would be no interruption of services for routines as a part of this transition as interruptions can be severely detrimental to my parent and children.   Since September 8th, when my application was both submitted and approved by Vista Management, all of my planning and verbal exchanges with TKH community manager concerning my family’s relocation have been clearly defined as the moving of 4 people into a 3-bedroom unit and 1-bedroom unit at TKH including a special request to have my mother placed in a 1-bedroom unit on one of the lower levels due to mobility issues related to her disability.  I found TKH property through an advertisement in the Express paper and was able to take part in their special pricing – 3-bedroom for $1,525 and a 1-bedroom for $1,145 for which I provided two $500 security deposits by bank check on 9/18/10 and 10/21/10.  It is my understanding that given the length of time that the previous tenant was in the upcoming 3-bedroom vacancy, everything needs to be replaced – dishwasher, microwave, refrigerator, floors refinished, etc.  And I suspect that Vista Management does not intend to honor the special pricing of $1,525 that I secured in good faith in September 2010; instead intending to make this up-coming 3-bedroom unit available at the current market rate instead.   Originally, I was told by the community manager that the 3-bedroom would be available at the end of October 2010, then November 2010.  For expediency and cost-savings, I needed to be able to move into both new households at the same time as I am moving both my mother (for whom I am caregiver and hold POA due to her disability) into the 1-bedroom; and my niece and nephew for whom I’ve functioned as parent/guardian into the 3-bedroom with me and I stressed that having both apartments ready at the same time was optimal.  In mid-November 2010, when I took my mother to see TKH for the first time that we were informed that the one-bedroom options available to my mother included a 1-bedroom with den as the 6th floor 1-bedroom which we were given a walk-through that day and had originally been designated for my mother (though I was shown a 4th floor 1-bedroom in September 2010) was given to another tenant that week as management “couldn’t wait any longer” for occupancy.  Again working with TKH community manager in November, I was able to negotiate a single move-in date of December 15th for the 3-bedroom unit and now either a one bedroom unit with or without den (whichever would be available by December 15th).  Today, Tuesday, December 7th, I went to place markers on apartments designating where boxes would be placed by movers and to have our first walk-thrus of our actual designated apartments.  We could only have access to the 5th floor unit – it was then that we discovered that it was only a 2-bedroom.  I immediately went to the rental office to discuss with THK community manger and though the mistake was noted by the community manager and apparently discussed by the community manager with the property manager soon after, I have been told that it is company policy that they cannot allow us to move into the 2-bedroom unit until its adjacent 3-bedroom unit  is available and that no addendum to lease could be created to cover the 3 weeks.  I was also told that regardless of the notes I’ve taken regarding only 3-bedroom and 1-bedroom units while onsite or in phone conversations, only the documentation on file at TKH was relevant.   So I find myself, either being homeless with children for 3 weeks or signing a lease binding me to a 2-bedroom apartment for at minimum three months – an apartment not sought, too small and not agreed upon based on my notes from September 8th forward.   I need to understand my rights – whether this is a break in a verbal agreement or "miscommunication," I have one week to find a solution that does not spiral my family into chaos and has the potential to hasten various levels of deleterious and immediate impact on my children’s access to their education (15-year old is pre-I/B at Albert Einstein and 4-year old attends Stephen Knolls PEP Classic to ensure that disability does not lead to developmental delays) or bring on any of their respective anxiety triggers. 

II am willing to store the majority of the items for the three bedroom, but I would require that Vista Management allow myself and my children to move into the 2-bedroom unit only until the upcoming 3-bedroom unit  (which TKH was informed by its current tenants their plan to vacate by mid-December on December 1st) has completed its upgrade and renovations and which time I wou thld posit that at an amended lease/agreement indicating the move into the 3-bedroom unit and the rent of $1,525 would end our financial commitment and association with the 2-bedroom unit.   I intend to be a tenant in good standing and for some time and I do not wish to start my relationship with The Kensington House from a place of distrust or acrimony however, I will not move and settle into a space that I did not seek with a long-term commitment that leaves me dangling awaiting the unknown date(s) by which the next 3-bedroom tenant gives notice.   How do I proceed?

Related posts:

Holy Cow, we couldn't find any other related post. Sorry. :(