We rent. Does law require our LL to be in creditor matrix?

[MSbklawyer]

if you are about to sign a new lease, what's the status of the prior lease? is it still in effect? if not, the whole question is moot.

MSbklawyer, can the LL object to someone assuming the lease?

Being about to sign a new lease has no bearing at all on your current lease. For example, if I am leasing an apartment from you and the lease doesn't expire for another 6 months, but I am about to sign a new lease with JB for a different apartment, my plans to lease from JB do not affect my lease with you. Am I understanding your question right?

Think of an 'assumption' of a lease contract as the functional equivalent of a reaffirmation agreement on a secured debt contract. A 'rejection' of a lease contract operates like a surrender with respect to a secured debt contract. Yes, a landlord can object to an assumption, for instance, if the tenant is in default on the lease and proposes to assume, but doesn't propose to cure the default.

[ROB37LAW]

It is required. Schedule G requires you to "describe all unexpired leases of real or personal property." That includes your house lease.

The declaration requires you to declare under penalty of perjury that the schedules are true and correct.

To omit your apartment lease is to commit perjury.

Will it ever amount to anything if you do not list it? Probably not. But you need to go into it with your eyes open.

You don't omit your lease. You just don't assume it.

[keepinitreal]

If your landlord does find out, educate him that your family will be able to much more easily pay the rent now that your unsecured debt will be eliminated.

[MSbklawyer]

You don't omit your lease. You just don't assume it.

By 'omit' I meant failure to list it on schedule G. By my reading of it, you are supposed to list any unexpired leases on schedule G even if you don't plan to assume it or even if you do plan to assume it.

Both the rejection and assumption of a lease require an affirmative act: the listing of the lease on schedule G, and checking the appropriate box (assume or reject) on the Statement of Intent. Simply not listing the lease would not have either effect (assume or reject), I wouldn't think.

Now if my thinking is wrong on this, it won't be the first time, so somebody please feel free to correct me.

[music12]

so if you are paying your rent on time, and intend to continue paying it, the LL would have no reason to know a thing about it. in my opinion, you are technically correct MSbklawyer, but as far as practically, i just don't see why anybody would ever get into any trouble for not listing a LL on a matrix when the LL is not a creditor.

[ROB37LAW]

so if you are paying your rent on time, and intend to continue paying it, the LL would have no reason to know a thing about it. in my opinion, you are technically correct MSbklawyer, but as far as practically, i just don't see why anybody would ever get into any trouble for not listing a LL on a matrix when the LL is not a creditor.

Exactly, I listed them on schedule G but not on the matrix. I did not assume the lease. Technically you can walk away but everybody needs a place to live so just keep on paying and nobody will be the wiser until they run your credit again to possibly renew your lease. When they realize that you continued to pay when technically you were living on a month to month basis, that should look good on your part. You upheld your obligation when not legally required to do so. It shouldn't be an issue. I wouldn't worry about it.

[jennordhavn]

I did assume my lease and added it to Sched. G, but did not put it on the matrix (I filed pro se).

[MSbklawyer]

so if you are paying your rent on time, and intend to continue paying it, the LL would have no reason to know a thing about it. in my opinion, you are technically correct MSbklawyer, but as far as practically, i just don't see why anybody would ever get into any trouble for not listing a LL on a matrix when the LL is not a creditor.

Sure, but you could make the same argument for your house payment:

If you are paying your house payment on time, and intend to continue paying it, Wells Fargo would have no reason to know a thing about it.

Just discharge all your unsecured debt and keep your mortgage lender in the dark because they aren't going to be affected anyway.

The debtor would probably never get in any serious trouble about it even if it were discovered. The attorney, OTOH, would get his ticket punched.

[music12]

does the bk court need to approve a "reaffirmation" of a lease, like a reaffirmation of a mortgage?

[MSbklawyer]

Exactly, I listed them on schedule G but not on the matrix. I did not assume the lease. Technically you can walk away.

How are you entitled to walk away? If your landlord hasn't received notice of your bankruptcy because you didn't put them in the matrix, how can your bankruptcy affect your landlord's rights under the lease?

[music12]

i think rob meant that you generally don't walk away from your lease just because you filed because you need a place to live. maybe he could have phrased it better (though MSbklawyer quoted only some of what he wrote...), but i think that's what he meant.

[justbroke]

does the bk court need to approve a "reaffirmation" of a lease, like a reaffirmation of a mortgage?

It's usually easier. I have found that this is really done according to Local Rules I had to write a Motion to Reject Residential Lease and submit it with negative noticing. No one objected (the landlord or Trustee), so I then submitted a proposed order granting the right for me to Reject the unexpired lease. This was the only proposed order my Judge ever "deleted" an entire paragraph. I had put that it would be a burden on my estate. She thought I didn't need that, I guess.

So, in some District, just listing it on Schedule G and indicating your intention on your Statement of Intentions is sufficient in Chapter 7s. In Chapter 13s, you usually can Assume/Reject leases in your Plan. The interesting thing is that in Chapter 13s, you don't have to assume/reject a lease until Confirmation! However, Chapter 7s have automatic lease rejections at day 45.

[music12]

interesting, jb! thanks.

[justbroke]

Yes, interesting as I had to personally deal with it. Again, local rules may prevail, but the process is pretty straightforward and is basically what MSbklawyer stated... indicating such on Schedule G and on the Statement of Intentions. In a Chapter 13, the process may be a little different and require either explicit assumption/rejection in the proposed/confirmed plan and/or a motion to assume/reject.

[mtbc]

With the caveat that month-to-month leases that you're current on are probably okay anyway -- we're in a year's lease and I listed it on Schedule G with a note that "rent is current, debtor is lessee, intends lease to be assumed" and not on the creditor matrix. This is partly because when I asked our court's pro se law clerk about it (MA), carefully dancing around the division of procedural/legal advice, it emerged that she thought I should submit a blank statement of intention and didn't have to bother listing the lease on it or filing some further motion about it. That surprised me a bit but I figured that, hey, it's easy, and I will be keeping my rent current so it's not like anybody's going to care anyway. I did still tell my landlord about the bankruptcy case, though, reassuring her that it was just about old consumer debt and we've never before stiffed a landlord or utilities. I suspect that we're technically supposed to list on the creditor matrix everybody listed in Schedule G (even if we're not behind on payments), but I really don't think it'd turn out to be a material omission in my case, my landlord's a bit of a worrier and I just didn't want her being alarmed and confused by the forms from the court. I figure it'll probably sail smoothly through as-is, partly because we will continue to honor our obligation under the contract whether or not it's still technically in force, and our landlord is much happier to have paying tenants than to have to try to find new ones.