What should I do about leaving my apartment when no contract?

Question

My boyfriend & I have been living in this apartment for about 4 months now. It’s all under the table , & we’re deciding to leave because we are unhappy an unable to sleep because of their loudness. There was no contracts or signing of any paperwork before moving in, was just asked to give them a months notice before we move out. Today I gave my months notice an said I will pay half of next months rent since I will only be staying half the month an the landlord is saying they want the full month. Weather we stay the full month or not. Mind you, there were no contracts..

Answer 1

You are on a month to month rental agreement and you are required by law to give a 30 days notice. Sorry

Answer 2

Legally then you are on a month to month lease & owe them for the full month regardless of when you move. They will win in court.

Answer 3

That's not how it works. You give one month's full notice - and you pay one month's full rent. Irrelevant of whether or not you've got a written lease, this is the legal requirement.

Answer 4

The law covers tenancies without contracts too. Its usually referred to as a tenancy at will and is treated exactly like a month to month tenancy, exactly like yours is. Thus, nothing is under the table. And the law states that you are required to give a full months notice and pay for the full month regardless if you use it for one day or all month. Sorry.



And I highly suggest you give your landlord a written notice in a manner that you can verify receipt (i.e. registered mail) because the landlord could just as easily sue you for two months rent claiming you never gave notice leaving you with no evidence that wasn't true.

Answer 5

The standard Texas lease agreement that we use gives the landlord and tenant the choice of allowing the notice to start during the month or requiring it to begin on the first. Because of the way we run our business we actually prefer to allow it to start during the month. Perhaps unwritten leases are treated different and perhaps this landlord wants a different arrangement than I do.

Answer 6

You did not sign a lease agreement with your landlord. Each state has what is considered a month to month tenancy. This state tenancy would govern the means of the termination method you would use and the number of days you would be required to give your landlord.



In most states this is a 30 day advanced notice. You are required to pay the full 30 day rent, not just half because you decide you want to move earlier.



In California you are able to do this as the rent in California is prorated, Most states do not require a landlord to prorate the rent. Apparently you reside in such a state.



I hope this has been of some benefit to you, good luck.





"FIGHT ON"

Answer 7

Traditionally you pay for the entire month, not by half months or by a week or several days. It takes them time to find a new tenant and the place can't be rented till you both move out and the landlord can get in to clean the place up. Pay the full month.

Answer 8

Your state laws apply especially since you have no contract. Look them up. Most states say 30 days written notice (assuming you pay monthly) taking affect at the start of the next rental period. That means 30 days notice today starts counting June 1 and ends June 30. California is one notable exception where 30 days means 30 days and could end mid-month like you are trying.

Answer 9

At this point, the question is what the landlord will do if you do not honor the informal agreement that you made. You don't give any information about the landlord. Typically it doens't matter whether you stay only half a month or the whole month - rent is not prorated. Be glad he is only asked for one month and not other penalties. He is actually being very generous. If you had a lease, you would have to pay all kind of penalties. But without a lease, there is little he can do. What might he do? Without knowing anything about the landlord, I cannot say. Is it worth saving half a months rent to have him mad at you? If you get a new place, they will ask you where you lived previously. It would be good if he would say a good word for you and not the opposite.



Without a written agreement, there are certain rights that are implied on both sides. The apartment should be in livable condition and excessive noise could be considered a violation of that. That's if it went to court and this would be over one half a months rent. Rent is not prorated and so you should pay a full momth's rent if you live there even part of the month.

Answer 10

Typical rental properties that are on a month to month basis, are paid one month at a time with no pro rated amount. whether or not it's on paper, in small claims court a judge would likely stand behind the landlord, unfortunately

Answer 11

Any tenant can leave any lease at any time. It's a contract, not a prison sentence. If your landlord is illegally collecting rent, you may not even (legally) owe rent for the time you're there, let alone after giving notice. State laws vary. We don't know what state (or country) the property is in. You agreed to pay rent and they agreed to rent to you -- that's a contract and is subject to at least the minimum standards in applicable landlord/tenant laws and contract laws and property laws. A contract "for an illegal purpose" may cause the landlord problems if they try to collect ANYTHING.



You give notice as required by law, just in case it turns out the landlord was in error and actually has the legal right to sue you for non-payment if you default. Consider, also, the fact that you can ask them to REFUND your rent money for any month in which they violated your rights, including the right to "quiet enjoyment". Are they going to want to be named in a legal lawsuit for damages, or are they going to try to negotiate a settlement before that happens. It's not "blackmail" if you're simply asserting your legal rights regarding your "contract."

Answer 12

You have a verbal month to month rental agreement, which, if provable (and it is) will stand up in court.



So, unless you are in CA or FL, you owe a written notice to vacate given to the landlord prior to the beginning of the next rental period and you owe rent for that period. In CA, 30 days notice literally means 30 days & you only owe rent for that 30 day period. In FL, your written notice is required to be turned in at least 15 days prior to the end of the current rental period & you owe rent for the notice period.

Answer 13

The landlord is correct you hive 1 months notice and regardless of if you live there or not you owe 1 month rent...... you do have a contract it is verbal and also backed up by you paying monthly rent

Answer 14

Your rental is not "under the table". If the landlord doesn't report the income to the IRS, that's a tax issue for the landlord but not related to your situation.



If you do not have a written lease, you are governed by your state's verbal lease requirements.



In most states the verbal lease requires you to 30 days notice in conjunction with your month-to-month lease term. This means if you pay rent on the 1st, you are required to give notice of the 1st - last day of the month.

- if you gave notice today, your lease would end on June 30th and you are required to pay rent for the full month of June



In California and a few other locales = 30 days is 30 days.

- give notice today and your lease will end of June 22nd.