Need some advice, legitimately important!?

I am 22 years old and my father has been having the WORST luck trying to find a workshop for his business...things upon other things have gone wrong and he has gone through 3 places since December..the most recent of which was that his and 6 other workshop units caught fire and are now being condemned. So he was evidently under a lot of stress to find a place to work and there is a guy across the parking lot who has a place for rent for 1000 bucks a month, my dad calls him up, meets him, he's had a really great reference from the guy he rented from before and they make an agreement, shake hands... My dad has the place. The next few days my dad tries to get ahold of him to arrange when he can pay 1st and last etc...and this guy doesn't answer his calls or get back to him. It has been a week and we hadn't heard from him. This guy had put the place back on kijiji (a site like craigslist) for 200 dollars more...So I tell my dad to give him a call from MY cellphone to see what happens...he doesn't pick up but calls back an hour later TWO TIMES! and leaves 2 messages! this guy is clearly desperate but my dad said they had gotten along really well so he doesn't really get it. my dad may be too stubborn to call back now but if he doesn't I am going to and see if I can get him to reconsider because I feel so badly this has happened to him. What should I do, if I do call..what is a convincing thing to say? my dad is a great guy and an honest man and I don't want this sleezeball to get away with this...