|
Hello,
I gave notice to vacate my rental unit three motns ago (the lease
required 60 days notice). I have paid rent through May 31st.
However, I am moving out on May 21st. I have just found out my
landlords are letting their new tenant move in on May 27th. I have
asked them to prorate me $137.50 for the 5 days I have paid (May
27-May 31) since they have a new tenant who will be occupying the
premises and they have refused. It seems they told the new tenant he
could come in early and not pay. Do I have any rights here?
Thanks, Shannon
|
| |
| |
It seems they told the new tenant he
could come in early and not pay.
It's perfectly OK for the landlord to let the new tenants in early for free
if he wants to. That's a freebie given by him and had nothing to do with
you.
You owe the landlord the balance of the lease. The landlord has the
obligation to mitigate your losses by expending reasonable effort to find a
new tenant. The landlord *is not allowed* to double-dip.
Under usual circumstances you wouldn't be entitled to prorata rent, but
since the landlord found new tenants and let them move in, you are entitled
to a refund of the rent *you actually paid* from the time they moved in to
the end of the lease for which you were obligated.
On the other hand, how much will it cost you to pursue your claim? Probably
more than you are owed.
|
| |
| |
SexyGirl wrote:
Hello,
I gave notice to vacate my rental unit three motns ago (the lease
required 60 days notice). I have paid rent through May 31st.
However, I am moving out on May 21st. I have just found out my
landlords are letting their new tenant move in on May 27th. I have
asked them to prorate me $137.50 for the 5 days I have paid (May
27-May 31) since they have a new tenant who will be occupying the
premises and they have refused. It seems they told the new tenant he
could come in early and not pay. Do I have any rights here?
You don't specify your state (or county or city), but it certainly
seems that you have a right to that refund. However, the law is
GENERALLY that you have a right to a refund of the amount the
new tenant pays the landlord for the time the new lease is
in effect. It sounds as if the landlord has structured the
agreement so that that amount is $0.
It may be that you could convince a court that the new
tenant's monthly rent should be prorated for those 5 days, and
that amount be refunded to you, but I'm not entirely sure
the law is on your side.
My qualifications: I've been a landlord and a tenant in
both California and Arizona.
--
This account is subject to a persistent MS Blaster and SWEN attack.
I think I've got the problem resolved, but, if you E-mail me
and it bounces, a second try might work.
However, please reply in newsgroup.
|
| |
| |
"SexyGirl" <vze2hbsr@verizon.net> wrote in misc.legal.moderated:
I gave notice to vacate my rental unit three motns ago (the lease
required 60 days notice). I have paid rent through May 31st.
However, I am moving out on May 21st. I have just found out my
landlords are letting their new tenant move in on May 27th. I have
asked them to prorate me $137.50 for the 5 days I have paid (May
27-May 31) since they have a new tenant who will be occupying the
premises and they have refused. It seems they told the new tenant he
could come in early and not pay. Do I have any rights here?
Yes, you have the right to exclusive occupancy of the unit for the
time you have paid for. You don't even have to return the keys till
May 31.
If they want to let the new tenant move in early, they need your
permission. Ordinarily you would give that permission in return for
not paying rent for those days (and a couple more, since landlord
will obviously be in your unit getting it ready for the next
tenant).
If landlord chooses to give new tenants a few free days, that's his
privilege, but it has no effect on his contract with you. Tell him
you're thinking about changing your mind and staying your full
paid time, but you'd be willing to negotiate a settlement for moving
out early.
That said, you don't have a lot of leverage here. You can't very
well live in two apartments simultaneously to prevent the landlord
from carrying out his scheme. And there's a germ of truth in what
your landlord says: if he were collecting double rent, that would be
clearly wrong; but he can claim that the five free days are a move-
in bonus to get the unit re-rented in a competitive environment. As
such, they would be chargeable to you as part of his damages for
your breaking the lease. (I note you didn't make it quite clear
whether you were breaking the lease with notice, or the lease
provided for moving out any time with notice. That could make a
difference too.)
Your rent of $825 a month suggests you live in a moderately
prosperous area. If the landlord won't be reasonable, why not call
your city's landlord-tenant office and see if they have any
suggestions?
--
If you e-mail me from a fake address, your fingers will drop off.
I am not a lawyer; this is not legal advice. When you read anything
legal on the net, always verify it on your own, in light of your
particular circumstances. You may also need to consult a lawyer.
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Cortland County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
|
| |
| |
In article <mi7ha0dcvv5rpo5815qr95tb4mr18l0vur@4ax.com>, SexyGirl
<vze2hbsr@verizon.net> wrote:
I gave notice to vacate my rental unit three motns ago (the lease
required 60 days notice). I have paid rent through May 31st.
However, I am moving out on May 21st. I have just found out my
landlords are letting their new tenant move in on May 27th. I have
asked them to prorate me $137.50 for the 5 days I have paid (May
27-May 31) since they have a new tenant who will be occupying the
premises and they have refused. It seems they told the new tenant he
could come in early and not pay. Do I have any rights here?
The bottom line is what your lease says. Is there any clause in
there about being pro-rated for a partial month? If not, then you
are out of luck. In general, if you use any part of a month, then
you are responsible for the entire month, unless other arrangements
are made in writing.
Since none of this has happened yet, and you haven't given up
possession of the rental unit, you acutally do have some rights.
You can simply choose to not move out on the 21st, and wait
until the 31st. That will cause the new tennant to have to
wait until June 1. If that is a problem for the landlord or
the new tennant, then perhaps they will offer you some cash
to vacate early. To do this, all you need to do is keep a
few objects in your rental unit, and don't turn in the keys.
-john-
--
====================================================================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
====================================================================
|
| |
| |
vze2hbsr@verizon.net (SexyGirl) wrote:
I gave notice to vacate my rental unit three motns ago (the
lease required 60 days notice). I have paid rent through May
31st. However, I am moving out on May 21st. I have just found
out my landlords are letting their new tenant move in on May
27th. I have asked them to prorate me $137.50 for the 5 days I
have paid (May 27-May 31) since they have a new tenant who will
be occupying the premises and they have refused. It seems they
told the new tenant he could come in early and not pay. Do I
have any rights here?
If you're in California you do.
Stu
|
| |
| |
It seems they told the new tenant he
could come in early and not pay. Do I have any rights here?
Well, you do have the right to stay on till May 31st. That's about it.
*****
Tim Horrigan <horrigan@aol.com>
*****
|
| |
| |
I gave notice to vacate my rental unit three motns ago (the lease
required 60 days notice). I have paid rent through May 31st.
However, I am moving out on May 21st. I have just found out my
landlords are letting their new tenant move in on May 27th. I have
asked them to prorate me $137.50 for the 5 days I have paid (May
27-May 31) since they have a new tenant who will be occupying the
premises and they have refused. It seems they told the new tenant he
could come in early and not pay. Do I have any rights here?
The answer depends on the terms of your lease and state law (which differs
from state to state).
--
Brett
*****************************************************************
* Personal Injury/Malpractice Bankruptcy *
* *
* BRETT WEISS, P.C. *
* Attorneys at Law *
* Maryland, D.C. and Federal Bars *
* lawyer@brettweiss.com *
* www.brettweiss.com *
* *
* Small Business Estates & Estate Planning *
*****************************************************************
The Small Print: This response is for discussion purposes only. It isn't
meant to be legal advice and you shouldn't treat it as such. If you want
legal advice, speak with a local lawyer familiar with your state's laws who
can review *all* of the facts and the law applicable to your situation.
*****************************************************************
|
| |
| |
In article <gvpka09n3o74i49iohaqtp6vqgdidho0iu@4ax.com>,
Scott Hedrick <dinehnm@KILLALLSPAMMERSyahoo.com> wrote:
You owe the landlord the balance of the lease.
The OP posted that the lease required 60 days notice to cancel, and OP
gave well over that. Hence, no balance is owed.
Under usual circumstances you wouldn't be entitled to prorata rent, but
since the landlord found new tenants and let them move in, you are entitled
to a refund of the rent *you actually paid* from the time they moved in to
the end of the lease for which you were obligated.
Had the OP been obligated to the end of the lease, the refund ought to
be the lesser of the rent the OP owed or the rent the new tenant
paid. But since OP is only obligated to the end of May, and has paid
that, there's no such issue.
On the other hand, how much will it cost you to pursue your claim? Probably
more than you are owed.
To pursue it, more than it's worth. However, as others have
suggested, just changing the final move-out date to May 31 (since rent
for the full month of May was already paid) is still an option. That
should induce the landlord (or new tenant) to offer compensation for
the early move-out.
Seth
|
| |
| |
|
