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Due to financial reasons I have to break my lease early. I talked to my landlord and she agreed.
The problem:
She agreed only if she may keep my security deposit AND any damages caused to the property has to be paid out pocket. Her reasoning was that I was breaking the lease (which was inconvenient to her) and was no longer entitled to the security deposit.
Some more details:
I am renting a room, not the entire house and there are 3 other people living there including the landlord.
The lease was for a year and I have been here for 4 months.
I have given a letter of 30 days notice
I have found several possible replacements she just has to approve.
The lease does not include a clause about breaking it.
This is in the state of Nevada
My question:
Is she entitled to keep the deposit? Let's say she accepts one of the candidates before loosing money in rent and there are no damages?
Due to financial reasons I have to break my lease early.
I talked to my landlord and she agreed... if she may keep my security deposit
AND any damages caused to the property has to be paid out pocket.
Her reasoning...
Her reasoning and accounting process is in error.
But if done properly... the bottom line will come out to just about the same.
She's not really allowed to keep the deposit. But she can charge you a fee, often equal to or greater than the security deposit, for breaking your lease. So it very well may be cheaper to give up the security deposit than fight for the deposit and pay a bigger fee to break the lease.
But it raises a second question. Is that allowed even though there aren't any fees written in the lease? Is it because there isn't a breaking the lease clause, so she can come up with whatever terms she wants for breaking the lease.
But it raises a second question. Is that allowed even though there aren't any fees written in the lease? Is it because there isn't a breaking the lease clause, so she can come up with whatever terms she wants for breaking the lease.
In effect yes. It's a negotiation between landlord and tenant since nothing in the lease addresses it. You can baulk at it and face the prospect of paying rent until such time as she finds a suitable tenant to replace you or agree to her terms (which are very reasonable). Your choice.
Also I just received a letter from her. In it she says that I will agree to forfeit my security deposit. She doesn't use the word fee anywhere. How does that work? Nevada laws say:
NRS 118A.240 “Security” defined.
1. Any payment, deposit, fee or charge that is to be used for any of the following purposes is “security” and is governed by the provisions of this section and NRS 118A.242 and 118A.244:
(a) Remedying any default of the tenant in the payments of rent.
(b) Repairing damages to the premises other than normal wear caused by the tenant.
(c) Cleaning the dwelling unit.
2. “Security” does not include:
(a) Any payment, deposit or fee to secure an option to purchase the premises; or
(b) Any payment to a corporation qualified under the laws of this State as a surety, guarantor or obligator for a premium paid to secure a surety bond or a similar bond, guarantee or insurance coverage for purposes of securing a tenant’s obligations to a landlord as described in NRS 118A.242.
Later is NRS 118A.242 it says:
8. Except for an agreement which provides for a nonrefundable charge for cleaning, in a reasonable amount, no rental agreement may contain any provision characterizing any security under this section as nonrefundable or any provision waiving or modifying a tenant’s rights under this section. Any such provision is void as contrary to public policy.
So wouldn't her saying I forfeited my right to a security deposit be wrong?
(I'm just trying to make sure I don't get cheated, sorry if this seems like a petty fight)
If my tenant breaks the lease, not only do they lose their security deposit, but they are responsible for payments for the remainder of the lease. You are getting off easy.
4. Upon termination of the tenancy by either party for any reason, the landlord may claim of the security or surety bond, or a combination thereof, only such amounts as are reasonably necessary to remedy any default of the tenant in the payment of rent, to repair damages to the premises caused by the tenant other than normal wear and to pay the reasonable costs of cleaning the premises. The landlord shall provide the tenant with an itemized written accounting of the disposition of the security or surety bond, or a combination thereof, and return any remaining portion of the security to the tenant no later than 30 days after the termination of the tenancy by handing it to the tenant personally at the place where the rent is paid, or by mailing it to the tenant at the tenant’s present address or, if that address is unknown, at the tenant’s last known address.
Also I am looking at this in the hypothetical situation that someone else moves in immediately after I move out. So she would be owed no rent.
IF there is a new tenant ready to move in without her losing any rent, then the only thing she can deduct from the security deposit is what is written above - cleaning or damage. And she needs to provide you with an itemized written accounting of how the security was used and return the balance to you within the specified time - 30 days.
Now, if you have someone willing to move in after you move out with no loss to her and she does not accept that person for a valid reason, then she cannot claim loss of rent.
I would take her a copy of the above statute and present her with a list of the people you found willing to rent.
If she then does not forward your security deposit to you within the proscribed time, you can seek the full security amount in small claims court. But that is really your only option if she stands firm to not return it to you.
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