I'm renting a house from a friend that belongs to his mother, I signed a lease between me and my friend, lease is good till may next year, I...

Question

I'm renting a house from a friend that belongs to his mother, I signed a lease between me and my friend, lease is good till may next year, I've been here almost three years, now his mom is trying to raise the rent, she is saying the lease her son wrote is not valid and wants to evict me and my family, what can I do? Thanks

Answer

Why is she claiming it is not valid? You need to pin her down. If she says that he had no right to sign a lease with you, then you can win on the basis that he had obstentable [legally apparent] authority to do so and her letting you live there for three years means she concurred in it and is estopped from now raising an issue that should have been brought up years ago. rent can not be raised while the lease is still valid as it is a contract stating that if you pay $X you get to stay there.