potential landlord revised lease now threatens to sue?

I signed a lease for a house, to be effective October 15.

I was due to receive my pay for a contract, it was to be deposited into my account October 11. I wrote the landlord a cheque for a rent deposit for October 11, because I had been assured my pay would be in my account.

When I found out my pay hadn't been put into my account in time (the 11th was a stat holiday), I called him and emailed him immediately to hold the cheque until the next day. However, he had deposited the postdated cheque a week early, so it bounced from my account. He also told me his bank only did a VERBAL check to see if the funds were in- that he never cashed the cheque (he DID, AND it seems he changed the date on the cheque, and my bank flagged it "suspicious" and held it. I have a carbon copy as proof the date was altered).

He called me screaming at me saying I was screwing him over, and that he was going to sue me for breach of lease. I understand he was upset about not being paid onthe 11th, but there was nothing I could do.

In the past week, he has emailed me no less than 20 times, threatening to sue and charge me with fraud, since the funds weren't in the account when I wrote the cheque. (I assumed they would be).

He keeps emailing me saying he is still advertising it for rent, while I was under contract for the house, as he hadn't been paid yet.

He sent us a new lease this weekend, with new dates and clauses- monthly inspections on the house, legal cosignors, and other things not in the original lease. I refused to sign it. I told him to send it to me originally, but when I saw the changes, I decided I was no longer interested in the BS from the landlord. So the landlord emailed a copy of the lease to my father, asking him to sign it (he tracked him down for his email address online). My father called me asking what the hell was going on, and had signed it but not sent it back. I told him to rip it up and NOT TO SEND it. So he shredded it.

the landlord called me this morning, and said we have until the evening to decide what to do. If we don't take the house, he is suing us for a month rent ($1250)-- but, the first month rent was only for half a month (15th of oct on).

He is really making this hell. I do NOT want to move into that house now, because he is a nightmare to deal with. We have also asked around, and it turns out almost all his tenants get evicted after paying first & last months rent. Also turns out he has been involved in a LOT of fraud cases against tenants (suing tenants for fraud).

Since he sent us a new lease different from the one we signed, is the first lease void? Also, can he sue since the first lease is void (because of the second lease?)?? I am REALLY not interested in renting this house anymore- he keeps telling me he can "get me out of the house if I cause any more trouble to him".

I am contacting a lawyer this afternoon with all the emails and leases.