tenant fails to give 30 day notice after i gave 60 day notice to vacate (rental market, house)

[westcityswish]

tenant fails to give 30 day notice after i gave 60 day notice to vacate. he left 10 days into the month of november. but i moved back into my home which is why he was asked to leave and he agreed. i charged him for the entire month of November (thru his security deposit) now hes suing me for the entire security deposit. question is if i moved back into the home i own that was rented out, does that mean i am not at loss having to find another tenant because i will technically be the "tenant" does that mean it doesnt matter he didnt give the 30 day notice in the eyes of the judge or the law in los angeles? or is he in all circumstances obligated to pay the month of November regarless bc of not giving the 30 day notice?

[johnrex62]

YOU gave the notice to vacate. Why the hell would he need to give notice? Since your notice was with the intent to remove the property from the rental market, I believe the judge will find you have no loss as a result of the tenant complying with your request. I also doubt the judge will require the tenant to stay the entire 60 days.

Judge Judy often states that the security deposit is not intended to recover lost rent, but is only retainable to cover damages to the property above and beyond normal wear and tear.


You may get lucky, but I doubt it.

[thelopez2]

He is right.

[jw2]

Originally Posted by westcityswish

tenant fails to give 30 day notice after i gave 60 day notice to vacate. he left 10 days into the month of november. but i moved back into my home which is why he was asked to leave and he agreed. i charged him for the entire month of November (thru his security deposit) now hes suing me for the entire security deposit. question is if i moved back into the home i own that was rented out, does that mean i am not at loss having to find another tenant because i will technically be the "tenant" does that mean it doesnt matter he didnt give the 30 day notice in the eyes of the judge or the law in los angeles? or is he in all circumstances obligated to pay the month of November regarless bc of not giving the 30 day notice?

I am glad you are out of the landlord business, you just don't get it.

[westcityswish]

did any one look up and research california housing laws? so the tenant can just bail out from the agreement to move out within 60 days? he moved 34 day in...if i has to rent out the place again i would be out $ the # of days he had left on the 60days...

[UB50]

Your tenant will win this plus he will probably go for statutory damages for you illegally withholding his deposit. (You only have 21 days to return it.) California Law Regarding Rental Security Deposits

You gave him notice. He was simply doing what you wanted.

[greyhorsewoman]

The tenant does have to give you notice once YOU have given notice. They are not prisoners, they don't have to stay in residence once notice is given.

Had the premises remained empty and you were unable to get a new tenant, you MIGHT have had a basis for charging, but normally, the landlord must show some effort to mitigate damages. If you moved into the premises before the 60 days was up, then you didn't have to pay rent/housing some where else and a judge might consider that 'double-dipping.'

Consider yourself lucky you got possession of the premises before originally planned. Your best option might be to take whatever 'damages' from the deposit are substantiated and return the balance. Be happy they didn't stay PAST the 60 days and make you obtain legal help in getting them evicted.

[CSD610]

Originally Posted by westcityswish

did any one look up and research california housing laws? so the tenant can just bail out from the agreement to move out within 60 days? he moved 34 day in...if i has to rent out the place again i would be out $ the # of days he had left on the 60days...

The better question is did YOU look up the laws?
It is your property and your responsibility to know the law regarding landlord and renter.
A security deposit is to recover damage to property not to be used for the last month rent.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by westcityswish

tenant fails to give 30 day notice after i gave 60 day notice to vacate. he left 10 days into the month of november. but i moved back into my home which is why he was asked to leave and he agreed. i charged him for the entire month of November (thru his security deposit) now hes suing me for the entire security deposit. question is if i moved back into the home i own that was rented out, does that mean i am not at loss having to find another tenant because i will technically be the "tenant" does that mean it doesnt matter he didnt give the 30 day notice in the eyes of the judge or the law in los angeles? or is he in all circumstances obligated to pay the month of November regarless bc of not giving the 30 day notice?

What did you expect him to do? Stay until day 59. You forced his hand to find a new place to live, which meant he now had to take time and energy for something he wasn't planning on doing. And I would be willing to bet not thrilled about having to move, but he took care of it.

Now you're annoyed? LOL.

You're the one who told him had to vacate, and vacate he did.

Do everyone a favor, stay in your own house and don't rent it out anymore.

You should consider yourself very lucky, you had a very considerate tenant. Would you prefer having someone who refused to move?

[jasper1372]

Regardless of the law....how about the human decency/ethics of this event ? You told your tennent he had to be gone by day 60....starting the date of the notice. We can make a pretty decent asumption that he had no intention or desire to move prior to this notice from you.

So now he, like anyone who had no intention of moving, scrambles to find a suitable place to live quickly out of possible sheer panic, moves out, in 34 days, and now you want to sue him ?

Really ????

You're the one that set this course of events in action. You as the homeowner had every legal right to demand he move within 60 days. So you expect him to wait around until day 59 to move ? Or perhaps you'd expect him to sign a lease at a new place on day 34 and then pay rent on two places for 26 days ? Again, you set this course of events in action....but it appears you want him to pay for your decision.

Come on, regardless of the law, how about your basic human decency ?

My parents were landlords of two properties while I was growing up. I've seen the problems landlords can have. Tenents getting a couple months (always a sob story to be had) behind in rent and moving out under cover of darkness (yes that happened twice that I can recall), moving out and leaving a bunch of crap behind for you to dispose of, calls in the middle of the night to fix the furnace etc.... Where I to have a good reliable long term tenent, I'd be kissing their ass....not kicking it !