A letter from the property management co...

**Nishu** · 01-23-2009, 06:30 PM

We were offered a house in housing just before the new year. They're awesome houses. It had occurred to me to say no because we'd have to get it before our lease expired... after thinking on it though I decided to accept the house even though we'd have to pay rent out of pocket for a short time... maybe a month to a month and a half. We're moving in mid-Feb.

About a week ago I called the owners and let them know that we'd be moving by the end of February. I didn't intend to break the lease but I also thought that my lease expired in mid-March so it was no big deal to pay that half a month... but I didn't mention that. I just said we'd be moving. I guess I thought it would be kind of nice of them to have a little while extra with the place empty so they could have it available sooner to rent? I dunno. I also asked for a repair for the dining room light. I left a message as they didn't pick up. They never called me back and that was kind of odd.

So today I get a letter from the property management company saying they had received written notice that we intended to vacate. (They hadn't because I wrote no such thing.) I don't have the letter in front of me but basically it said that I was breaking my lease and normally they would charge outrageous fees until they rented it out again but since we were such good tenants the homeowners have agreed to let me out of the lease for the amount of one full month of rent. If I were to let the lease expire, I would be paying rent for the month of March and then be free and clear April 1st.

So basically, because I am such a good tenant, they have agreed to take the house back an entire month early and still allow me to pay the exact same amount.

Umm.... No thanks. Honestly it kind of hurts my feelings. I know it's stupid but I don't like the implication that I was meaning to back out of an agreement. I wasn't. Also, I was fine with just paying that rent for half of March and letting them have it back as soon as we left. Bleh. I left a message for the manager to call me back.

I'm not happy with this at all. Can they say that they have received notice that I'm breaking my lease? I only intended to let the homeowners know that we wouldn't be renewing.

One last thing. My lease was signed on March 14th of last year. It says it's good for 1 year and 0 months. It also says it expires on April 1st of this year. So which is right? March 14th, 2008 + 1 year does not equal April 1st of this year.

So what now guys? I need expert help.

**Greebo** · 01-23-2009, 06:45 PM

Notice they received. Written notice, they did not. However, a recorded notice is just as good as written notice.

Does your lease have a start date or a move in date? The signing date and the start date don't have to be the same. Usually leases start on the 1st of the month, so that'd be April to March. In other words, your property manager agreed to let you out of your lease as soon as it expired. Idiotic letter, really.

However, you intended to pay March's rent anyway - this was probably a form letter with fill in the blank fields - so probably a formality on their part. Legally they can't lease it out while its still under lease, either, so the letter might have been formalizing the termination of the lease. Not sure...

Check the specifics of the lease...if it's 4/1 start date then you owe March...so then you have to decide whether or not to try to get them to let you out of it.

**Nishu** · 01-23-2009, 06:58 PM

Here's what is says....

Term: The premises are leased for a term of [x] 1 year 0 months commencing the 14th day of March, 2008 and terminating the 31st day or March, 2009. This lease has a renewal date of April 1, 2009, a 1 year lease renewal will be sent out on or before this date unless proper notice to vacate has been given or received.

I know it's splitting hairs but you can probably see why I thought my lease expired mid month. We took the keys the same day the house was leased.

This is so irritating. The least they could have done was called me back.

So is a recorded notice really that great? I didn't say I was terminating the agreement... just that we'd be moved out. What if I wanted to stay until the end of March? I really didn't want to have to be out by March 1st.

Thanks for the help. I really don't like dealing with this stuff.

**mom23boyz** · 01-23-2009, 07:17 PM

I think that you would legally have the right to stay until the end of March....especially if they are gonna charge you for March. I try to overlap my moving dates so that I have extra time week to weeks to clean and stuff. I personally would call them and tell them since you are paying rent thru the end of March thats when you will be out.

**rainbowgc** · 01-24-2009, 02:00 PM

I think it is best to look at your lease 1st and to avoid a headache and financial problems follow the lease to the letter.

**writtenonmybody** · 01-24-2009, 04:57 PM

if you signed the lease and it says April 1st it expires, that's the day it expires regardless of the date you moved in. The reason why apartments/rental places do the first of the month is because they usually fill a vacancy on the first of the month. Not the middle of the month. It puts two weeks in there where they wouldn't get paid. Most places do that.

So, You are liable for all of march. You signed a lease that says void as of april 1st. I understand your reasoning and theirs. I've been an apartment caretaker before. However if you were a good tenant they should be willing to try to help you out by starting to show your place to see if they could get someone in by the middle of the month and then adjust your rent and send you a check. That's what we did. However, if they couldn't find someone to move in until the first of the month there was nothing we could do.

How much notice were you supposed to give to vacate per your lease? Where I worked you had to give a 60 day notice. if you did, we'd do anything we could to work with you. Maybe this is why they are not willing to really go out of their way for you? Maybe you didn't give them enough notice to try to fill it by the day you wanted? I dunno. Ultimately, you're liable for the rental until April 1st.

**writtenonmybody** · 01-24-2009, 05:09 PM

On the flip side, you have every right to take your time moving out and not being out (with cleaning and everything) until the end of march. Usually the last day at noon. You can be out before then, but you'll lose out on money regardless. I've worked with people who had moved a whole month before and not cleaned and turned in keys until the last day of the month before.