Advice on negative recommendations from landlords?
So, I'm looking for a new apartment closer to work to cut down on my commute time. I have a good relationship with my current landlord and she has given a positive recommendation to the new place I'm looking at.
The landlord at my previous house has given me a negative recommendation claiming that I still owe her money. Because of that negative I'm being denied, even though the positive recommendation is from the landlord I've been with for 13 months and the negative was only my landlord for ~8 months.
The only way the background checking company will change their result is if the landlord changes her recommendation, even if I can prove she is lying. That's bad news for me because she's.. Well she's a little crazy and seems to have a poor grip on reality.
I don't actually owe her money, nor can she prove that I do. She is claiming that the lease was for 12 months and since I left after 8 I owe her money. The one I signed said 6. Unfortunately for my roommates and I, we lost our copy of the lease.. When we learned she was claiming the lease was for 12 months, we requested that she send us a copy. She sent pages 2-5, i.e. every page except the one stating the term of the lease. She has refused to acknowledge this omission or even discuss it with us.
Has anybody had an experience like this? Do you know of any legal options I may have that would prevent her from giving the negative recommendation?
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