Q: My lease says that I get a rent concession of $500 for the first month's rent, and $150 for every month thereafter. When I subtracted $500 from the first month's rent, the landlord returned the check, saying I was entitled to deduct only $150. When I pointed to the lease, he said that was "an error on his part," and that the correct figure for all months was only $150. Is he bound to honor the $500 figure, even though he claims it was a mistake?

A: I doubt very much whether a judge would allow your landlord to reform or rewrite the lease to take into account his "mistake." Even if we give your landlord the benefit of the doubt — by believing him when he says that the $500 concession was made in error — that won't lead to a rewrite.

First, what does your landlord mean by "made in error?" If he's claiming that he made an error in judgment — by misjudging the amount of the first month's concession needed to get you to sign a lease — no amount of arguing will make his case successful. Mistakes in business judgment can't be reformed later.

Next, let's suppose this "error" was a typo or other mechanical error. If you were aware of the error, or should have been aware, the law says that no contract was created at all, and your entire lease may be unenforceable. On the other hand, if you didn't know, and had no reason to know of the mistake, in most states, the lease will be enforced, mistake and all.

So the question boils down to whether you (or a reasonable person in your shoes) should have known that a $500 first-month's concession was too good to be true. The answer may depend on the total rent and the state of the rental market. If the rent is high compared with the concession (for example, the concession is only one-quarter of the rent), the market is glutted with rentals like this, and if other landlords are offering deep concessions, you may have been justified in thinking that a $500 concession was an intentional marketing decision.

Q: The tenant who used to live with me became abusive and dangerous; I had to get a protective order, directing him to stay away. He complied, but has left a ton of personal belongings behind, some of it rather valuable. What are my obligations regarding this stuff? I certainly don't want him coming back, even just to collect it.

A: Many states have procedures for landlords to follow when tenants leave behind personal belongings. Some, like California, aren't hard-and-fast rules — they are simply a process that, if followed, will shield the landlord from lawsuits over abandoned property.

In California, the steps involve determining the value of the property and store everything, other than obvious garbage. Then, landlords must give written notice to the tenant, wait a specified amount of time, and if the property isn't claimed, they can do whatever they want if the value is less than $300. If the value exceeds that, the landlord must sell it at public auction and publish a notice in a newspaper. The landlord can keep from the proceeds enough to compensate for expenses, and must turn the rest over to the county. Needless to say, this statute is on the far end of the spectrum.

Other states are far less accommodating to the tenant. In many, the landlord can simply do what he wishes; others take a middle approach, and require notice and an opportunity to claim, but then give the landlord the go-ahead to keep or dispense of it as he wishes.

The situation you're in is a bit different than the typical scenario that the statutes address: The tenant who is departing willingly (or if not voluntarily, at least with knowledge of the move, as happens when law enforcement personnel carry out an eviction order). These tenants have had time to gather their possessions, and if they fail to take them all, there's some element of "you had the chance, now we'll give you just one or two more." But a tenant who is the subject of a protective order, even one that he has had a chance to oppose, may not have a chance to pack up. In this sense, an "abandoned property" scheme may not apply to him. But on the other hand, you hardly want to give your ex-tenant an invitation to come get his stuff when you've just served him with an order to stay away.

You'd be best served by talking with a local lawyer, who is familiar with your state's abandoned property law and can advise you on your rather unusual situation. Your lawyer might consult with the police and even the judge who issued the order. There has to be a way for your tenant to get access to his property without putting you face to face with him; and if he doesn't respond, you'll need to be assured that there's a proper and legal way to dispose of his property.

janet@inman.com