A lawyer can do all the paperwork.

On charging a tenant, that is lawyer territory and would depend on your lease, the tenants willingness to sue, legal environment in your area, etc.

The lawyer you hired can obtain these in under 2 minutes.

I'm not a lawyer, but I'd consider using some of the following questions to answer your question, "do I have legal recourse?"

If you found what he wrote ground breaking or empowering, more power to you.

Corporate Trial Lawyer vs a general attorney. 

They also offer customizable lease agreements.TenantCloud: This is a more holistic property management solution, but it also offers tenant screening and customizable lease agreement functionalities.Rocket Lawyer: For e-signing lease agreements, this tool is useful.

IvanMy response would have been you should check with your lawyer, Ask him about a specific performance lawsuits against you and the owner, and also a separate lawsuit against you as a tort for interference. if you want in now you can pay me now, or if you want to try the backdoor you can pay me a whole lot more later..I have never lost one of these cases.so I know what your chances of doing it successfully are.and you don't seem like the type that likes to throw money away.

I read and hear different answers on the debt being equal from lawyers/CPA's.

Time to go around the lawyer and get in touch with him directly -- by him I mean the man who keeps the earth spinnin - Chuck Norris.