Apartment is charging me for breaking lease when I didn t. What should I do?

Question

My lease ended on the 31st of May. I moved out with no issues, cleaned it out etc. I went to the front office and handed in my keys and gave them my forward address. I asked if anything else is needed of me and I was told no and I left with no problem. I waited all of June for a letter about my deposit and nothing came in. I went in today to ask why haven t I received anything. They then handed me a balance that I owed them 794 dollars. They told me that I had broken my lease and left before my contract was up. I argued that it ended on the 31st of may and I left that day. They told me since they filed my 60 day notice on April 7th, my lease really ended on the 7th of June. So they charged me another months rent plus the added new fee up. Then charged me for breaking the lease. Nickel and dime more onto it. I was never told or warned about this of being charged another month. Stating that they have no time and they re busy. They even lost my forwarding address I gave them. I had to find out when I came. I argued with the manager until she told me to leave because I said "are you telling me you don t give a **** about us?" I asked over and over why wasn t I warned. I came in march to tell them I was leaving and gave my noticed shortly after but they filed it on the 7th of april and that s where they re trying to loop hole me into its my fault.

What should I do? Do I go to court or pay them.

Answer 1

Expiration of a fixed term lease is not the same thing as terminating a periodic lease. Check the language carefully on that. Many leases do not automatically convert from a fixed term to month-to-month until some event happens, like the landlord accepting a rent payment after expiration of the original term.



Did you hand deliver the notice at the same time you dropped off the keys? They told you that you didn't need to do anything else when you dropped off your keys, so I assume you didn't send a notice after May 31.

Answer 2

What are the lease terms? Your lease should specify how much notice you need to provide that you are not renewing your lease. If it does not specify, then state law will control, which probably requires much less than 60 days. (In my state, for example, only 15 days.) Do your research.



Obviously, if you gave the proper notice required by the lease or the law, your landlord is in the wrong. But let s say you didn t give enough notice. In that case, you might be on the hook for the remaining time--until June 7, your landlord said. However, once you moved out, your landlord had a duty to try and find new tenants as soon as possible--and once the new tenants moved in, you could not be made to pay rent for any days afterward. If it occurred in the middle of the month, then you would only have to pay for the days it stood empty, as SuperTramp explains.



You have one last out: what does your lease say about oral agreements? Unless it says that the lease can only be modified in writing, the landlord might have been barred from claiming any more rent by telling you on May 31 that you had no further obligations. This would be harder to prove in court than something solidly contained in the lease, however.

Answer 3

" but I failed to date it." That was your 1st mistake. Since you did not put a date on it you have no proof you turned it in before April 7.



Turning notice in late does not extend the lease. Charging you any lease break fees is total bull sheit. They can legally charge you another month rent. CA & OR are the only 2 states I am aware of that require prorating rent at move out.



Next time you give a notice to vacate put a date on it. Best is to make them put a received stamp on it & make you a copy.

Answer 4

They gave you a notice to renew or to vacate? You are correct. They gave you a 60 day notice April 7 to terminate and that would end June 7. If you moved by May 31 you dont owe June rent. They were tricky. They should have given you notice on April 1 to leave May 31. They dated it April 7 so you would have to pay for June. Unless you gave them a 30-day notice on May 1, they may be right about June. I would take it to Small Claims Court, sue to get your deposit back.



Everyone has 21-45 days to get deposit back, or a letter explaining why it is being kept. That letter has to be sent within a certain time. You have to check your state law on that.



What date did you give that written notice?

Answer 5

I am sorry to tell you this, but the landlord is legally correct.



Read your lease! Its all in there. While the lease expired on the May 31 you failed to fulfill the lease by providing the proper (and legal) written notice to vacate. As a result, by law, the original lease becomes a month to month tenancy and all the original terms of the expired lease continue, except the term of tenancy. So legally you did bust the tenancy agreement which in many states causes the tenant to immediately forfeit the security deposit and is still on the hook for the extra month of rent. But the landlord can't also claim late fees if you turned over possession of the property on May 31, that part is pure (illegal) greed.

Answer 6

Do you have a copy of your lease that you signed when you moved in? When you filled out the notice to move out that you gave the office what date did you put?



Your lease should clearly state this information.

Answer 7

You pay it. You need to read your lease. The lease turns into a month to month if you don't give proper notice to leave.

Answer 8

You need to call a local attorney well familiar with landlord/tenant law.



Whenever you give notice always do it in writing and either have them sign a receipt acknowledging it or mail it via return-receipt certified mail.

Answer 9

unless your rent each month was from the 7th to the 7th AND there is no wording in the lease/rental agreement stating something about the company filing your leave date as of the 7th, then you may be able to file a case in small claims to get your deposit $$ back...............you will need written proof: your lease, copies of checks for the rent paid, your written notice to the company of intent to vacate on xx/xx/2015, etc.............IF you have all you need in writing, then look at the County courthouse website where you live for info on how to file in small claims - there are certain steps that must be done

Answer 10

If you didn't give the notice until 4/7, they are correct.

Answer 11

You have to sue them, apparently. Check with local rules.

Answer 12

geez donald... .it sounds like you joined today to post a fake question....how about that...you did join today..