move out date disagreement (lease, condo, eviction)

[DCmum]

So apparently when I renewed my lease, the landlord put May 30th as my last day. I never noticed this since our agreement was that I was renewing the lease for 6 months, so my understanding was I could stay till the last day of the month. Now he has a new tenant who wants to move in on the 31st. I am paying for the entire month, can he do this? I know I signed the lease and should have paid attention but I have been living here for almost 3 years, so this lat renewal was just to cross our Ts since I told him at the time I could only renew for 6 months. Do I have any options?

[greekchampion04]

Whatever is written in the lease is what you have to abide by. But you also have tenant rights and eviction takes 30 days. If you signed something that says you have to be out before May 30, there is nothing you can do.

[HokieFan]

If that's the day stated on your signed lease, that is your move-out date. You have no recourse. You may has crossed your Ts but you didn't dot your Is in this case.

Ask him about prorating May's rent so you're paying for 30 days instead of 31 days.

Are you unable to move into your new place a day earlier?

[leavingwash]

I think that you have to abide by your lease. BUT to your point, you are leaving a day early. Therefore you should get a prorated credit for one day refunded to you along with your deposit (if there are no issues that the landlord finds to refuse refunding the deposit).

[Mnseca]

I don't think there is anything you can do if you signed it. You might have better luck contacting the new tenant and offering to pay them back one day's rent if they can wait. Of course, check the lease to see if you are actually paying for that whole day - then you can ask to prorate. But if the issue is that you can't move out until 31 (versus paying for an extra day), then the new tenant is your best bet.

[HokieFan]

Originally Posted by leavingwash

I think that you have to abide by your lease. BUT to your point, you are leaving a day early. Therefore you should get a prorated credit for one day refunded to you along with your deposit (if there are no issues that the landlord finds to refuse refunding the deposit).

Just piggybacking on this...

Be sure to do a walkthrough inspection with your landlord a few days prior to your move out date so that you will have an opportunity to clean/repair anything yourself before you leave.

[DCmum]

Update: He responded and said I could stay till the 31st , then he asked what my plans were for cleaning and painting. I told him I was planning to clean but not repaint the condo. When I moved in in 2011, he did not repaint the walls, I asked him at the time to paint and he told me he wasn't gong to but I could paint if I wanted to and he would reimburse me. I chose not to repaint the walls because I didn't want to bother. So he replied to my email saying "
What I meant with painting is small touch ups and not to paint the entire stuff" I have never lived anywhere where I had to paint before moving out, this is crazy, wouldn't small stuff be part of wear n tear? I don't know when was the last time he painted the place, since the Pecos tenant before me was there for at least a year, I feel like he just wants to take the keys from me and give it to the next tenant without doing anything himself and having me pay for everything. This is my first time renting from a condo owner, I usually deal with property management companies and never had these issues before

[HokieFan]

What does your lease say about requirements for move out? Many say "professional cleaning" or "carpets must be shampooed" or something similar upon move out.

I've live in places where we filled in the nail holes with putty, sanded them down, and touched up the paint. Do the walkthrough inspection a week before so that you know exactly what he means by touch-up. It will not cost more than $10 for some putty and a small container of touch up paint.

[DCmum]

Im planning to have it professionally cleaned so I'm not tripping of that. I probably have 3 paintings on the walls, nothing else so I don't think that damaged the walls but I could fix those holes. What I'm having an issue is, his expectation of me touching up the walls that have not been painted for 4 years and we didn't write on the walls or anything

[ICS67]

However this painting issue is resolved (hopefully in your favor), there's one big take-away you can learn from this if you're moving to another rental. You should do a walk-through at the start of the lease on your new place with the owner or property manager to document everything, no matter how small. Even if you can't do a walk-through with one of the above, you should still document any issues, no matter how insignificant they seem (e.g., cracked tile, nail holes in walls, small stain on rug, rust on fixtures, etc.) and take lots of photos. Get the list to the owner or property manager in person or by registered mail, return receipt requested, and keep the photos. It may sound a bit paranoid, but it will be in your own self-interest/self-defense should you encounter a similar situation in the future with your new home.

Good luck.