Really need advice regarding my Landlord not paying Property Tax

[MJ the Skeptical]

So, my g/f and I are currently renting a house from a sort of slumlord type landlord which wasn't too bad, but it got worse a week ago. What happened is, the new landlord acquired/bought this rented house I'm staying in on/at a Tax Sale (which basically means the old landlord didn't pay his property taxes on this place so it went on the market). Now they both expect me to pay them rent this month and they both have threatened me with eviction.

On top of that, the Realtor who sold this house said the old and new landlords have to work out who I pay rent to and when I asked them to talk to each other they both claim the other one is avoiding the other one's calls. I want to know who has legal right to ask for rent? and do they both have the power to evict me? or should I be getting a lawyer? can't afford that, small claims court? should I just give them both the 1 month notice to avoid this? etc. this is all very overwhelming, I haven't been sleeping well lately. EDIT: I should have mentioned where I was from since the laws are different state to state. Minnesota.

[Minimalist]

Contact a lawyer. The owner of record 'should' be the one on file with the local registrar but state laws vary.

Failing a resolution, place the amount of the rent in a separate bank account.

[Jackalope]

So, my g/f and I are currently renting a house from a sort of slumlord type landlord which wasn't too bad, but it got worse a week ago. What happened is, the new landlord acquired/bought this rented house I'm staying in on/at a Tax Sale (which basically means the old landlord didn't pay his property taxes on this place so it went on the market).

The scary part is, now they both expect me to pay them rent this month and they both have threatened me with eviction. Even though the old landlord gave me no notice that place was on the market. On top of that, the Realtor who sold this house said the old and new landlords have to work out who I pay rent to and when I asked them to talk to each other they both claim the other one is avoiding the other one's calls.

I want to know who has legal right to ask for rent? and do they both have the power to evict me? or should I be getting a lawyer? can't afford that, small claims court? should I just give them both the 1 month notice to avoid this? etc. this is all very overwhelming, I haven't been sleeping well lately. EDIT: I should have mentioned where I was from since the laws are different state to state. Minnesota.

I have no idea what the laws are in your state. Personally, I would consult with an attorney.

You may owe your original landlord some rent, however I do not think he has the legal ability to evict you - he is no longer the property owner and has no rights over the property.

Me, I'd consider some options.

1. Talk to a lawyer.
2. Tell both I'm holding the rent until they work out between themselves who gets what.
3. Prorate the rent and pay each and tell them to work it out amongst themselves.
4. Pay the one that has the legal power to evict me.
5. Move.

None of these options will keep one or the other (or both) from suing you.

If I got an eviction notice over this, I'd fight it. It'll take months or longer for them to get rid of you.

[Bibliofagus]

[MJ the Skeptical]

That was my initlal thought cthulu, that the original landlord had no more rights to the property unless he paid off his debt since there was enough delinquent property tax to have a tax sale. The original landlord seems pretty confident that he still gets to collect rent because "it wasn't a foreclosure but a tax sale" and he says since it's under a "redemption period" so the new landlord can not ask for rent or that would be "fraud". I have no idea if that's right or not, but he sighted Minnesota statue 281.01 which he sent me in the mail that said, "Any person claiming an interest in any parcel of land bid in by the state at a tax sale may redeem the same within the time and in the manner in this chapter provided."

I would love to consult with an attorney or get one but I don't have the money to do that.

[Minimalist]

[MJ the Skeptical]

[Mystical]

If I were you I would call the Realty service who sold it. Those guys know a lot. You could even call a random property manager and appeal to them for an answer.

There's gotta be some sort of Renters association you can ask, no? Like a better business bureau for renters?



Eta: Convicting you is a process. I think it costs money. The original owner can't evict you because he no longer owns it. I'd worry about paying the property owner, then tell the original landlord to collect from them if he feels he's owed money.

[MJ the Skeptical]

The realty people who dealt with this property said they can't give me advice and that the two landlords had to work out who I pay to, and one of them seems to be avoiding the other, if not both.

As far as contacting property managers and the better business bereau for renters, I have no idea how to go about finding that info. Not even sure what a property manager is or where they are around me or if they would even talk with me.

[Bibliofagus]

The tax sale happened on 6/17/14. I was never late on payments, so the eviction threats were shocking to hear from both of them. So you're basically saying I could be paying the previous landlord for 17 days and the new landlord for 13 days.

What you said in response to Chtulhu however - if true - would trump all this. Forget what I said. What I meant to say was: You need to pay the rent to whomever has the right to receive it.
Normally this would work out the way I described, but your situation seems more complicated.

I'm terrible with this kind of thing so I don't really know how I'd go about getting a partial refund for the property tax

It says there on the site I linked how you can apply.

and I'm not sure what you meant by possibly having a claim on my government's owner.

I said government/ex-owner and meant government or ex-owner.

The ex-owner part is mostly hypothetical. The thing is: Tax refunds can often be reclaimed several years back. At least this is the case in my country. But the tax in question was not paid at all for quite some time, so your government might say that there were no taxes paid to be reclaimed. Which would mean you have a claim on your ex-landlord.

Never mind about all that. All you need to know and do to maybe get some extra money is apply for the refund.