Rented House Landlord Did Not Own

Question: We are renting a house in St. Joseph, Michigan, that the landlord does not own it was foreclosed on and he has not owned it for over 1 year now. He just rented it out to us 2 months ago and now we are being evicted by the actual owners. We just paid him the rent for July. What can we do in this matter?

Answer: My recommendation is to file a third party complaint against the person who rented it to you in the same lawsuit. File a response to the eviction that you have a valid lease and file it with the court. Then file a complaint in the same court action against the landlord asking for damages which includes the money you paid the landlord he was not entitled to and your cost of moving and for inconvenience. I believe the court will treat the fraudulent landlord very harshly. I would recommend that you get an attorney to assist you in this matter if you can.