Lease Notice & Termination
We had a lease that went from Aug 15 2008 – Aug 15 2009. In the lease it states that if I want to renew the lease or end the lease I need to give at least 60 days notice so the landlord have time to find a new tenant. I told him when it…
We had a lease that went from Aug 15 2008 – Aug 15 2009. In the lease it states that if I want to renew the lease or end the lease I need to give at least 60 days notice so the landlord have time to find a new tenant. I told him when it was less than 30 days left until the termination of the lease ending date (Aug 15), thinking the lease was expiring on the Aug 15 anyway and there is no automatic renewal in the lease or mention of month to month. Really confusing. He said nothing to me when I told him that we were leaving, just a OK, no problem.
Now my security deposit is being used to pay for the rent until my Landlord finds a new tenant, since he claims I never fulfilled the 2 months notice the lease says. He is also starting to accuse me for damages in the house common areas. The landlord refuses to listen and have nor stopped communicating with me. His last word was, you will hear from us when whatever is left of your deposit shows up in the mail.
If a lease terminates at a date without a option to automatic renewal, do you need to notify by law if you don’t intend to stay?
Also I paid to much in rent I found out since he added $150 to the rent after it was signed, claiming extra cost to fix a boiler, this in a email and not in the signed lease.
And is all of this legal action from the landlord?
On a personal note. All other Landlords we have been having for the last 6 years have loved us.
They are still contacting us every now and then when they available apartments to get us back. Not sure if this could be worth something in a court though.
Blowhard…er, fish…how unfortunate, since your bio claims you’re an attorney, that you do not recognize that half the information being offered is wrong. Services at the Housing Court help desk are FREE(!), and actually provided by people who deal with landlord-tenant issues on a daily basis. Exactly which resource did you provide for OP?…(unless namecalling is the most valuable resource in your own professional practice).
small claims court is the easiest and fastest. Cost about $20 to start the lawsuit. Sue him for the deposit and the $150.00. Unless you stayed after the lease ended you have no obligation at all. If you stayed after 8/15 you became a month to month tenant or a holdover by operation of law having nothing to do with the lease.
vinca you’re an idiot. seeking advice in this situation from other tenants and landlords is invaluable– they can point you toward resources, and share their limited knowledge of the law, so you can decide whether it worth fighting or spending more money on, before ever going to an attorney. I got news for you: until you are at the point of starting a legal action (before you need to know civil procedure), you can get the lay of the land yourself. Especially in landlord-tenant law, which is specifically designed to be user-friendly, and accessible by laypersons. But maybe not idiots.
Agree with CGfan. And if he isn’t responsive, just bring an action in small claims court. Cost is minimal.
I have never heard of an affirmative obligation for a tenant to notify the landlord 60 days in advance if he planned to move at the end of the lease, or forfeit a security deposit. I am no lawyer, but I would be very surprised if your landlord had any right to hold a security deposit on the grounds that you did not affirmatively notify him you planned to move at end of lease. That’s utterly ridiculous. I would get a lawyer friend to draft an official letter threatening to sue not only for the return of the security deposit, but for damages as well, based on the landlord’s untenable claim that you didn’t give 60 days notice (since that is his reason for holding the deposit).
“His last word was, you will hear from us when whatever is left of your deposit shows up in the mail.”
What a bad ass LL. I would never get away with that crap.
Hire a lawyer or a law student to draft a letter requesting your full deposit back. Send it via certified/registered mail with copies of all his emails attached. He’ll shit his pants. Good luck!
It’s comical for you to write “But what do you do…, start a dispute right away? I guess, but that’s not me, I don’t wanna fight unless I have to.” Yet here you are, trying to argue your point on a board where it’s meaningless whether you “win” or “lose.” Go consult an attorney at the Housing Court help desk and get some actual, informed advice. Or continue doing nothing more than pointless complaining….
I mean, we moved out and paid the rent until the date that the lease ended – We never skipped out on any rent that the lease said.
What’s being argued by the landlord is that I never gave him 60 days notice (I gave him 30, read the first posting about the claim he makes), so he is using 50% of the deposit to pay for the time the apartment is standing empty, which might very well be a month or more…
Your security should have been returned on a pro rata basis. 30 day notice would of netted you 1/2 your deposit. He is not allowed to “punish” you by keeping it all.
On the $150 extra charge you should of simply ignored it and paid the rent as required. It is up to the LL to initiate the suit.
I can’t imagine how he can hold you to damages in the common area without legally submittable evidence. Witnesses willing to testify etc. Sounds like he is just clouding the waters. Look to Small Claims for relief.
wilso26941, LLs can use the security to pay owed rent.