Landlord/tenant help (apartment complex, breaking a lease, eviction, rental)
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Back in January, we renewed a 1-year lease at our apartment complex knowing that we would be terminating the lease early (around August). We told our landlord this at the time and he adjusted one of the clauses to say that if we provide 60-day notice to vacate, we would owe no early termination fees or liquidated damage fees. We provided that notice in mid-June, putting our lease termination date at about 8/14. My thought has been and is that we would be on the hook to pay rent through 8/14 and no longer.
I e-mailed my landlord recently for clarification on how much we'd owe for August rent and he said the full month because we were terminating our lease early. It may also be worth noting that there's another tenant moving in "shortly after" we leave, though he didn't specify the date.
So for anyone with experience or knowledge here, are we on the hook for the full month's rent? My inner sense of fairness says "hey, we gave you the required notice and you got a new tenant, there's no way we should be required to pay beyond the notice date." But...I've been wrong before. State is Florida in case anyone has knowledge specifically in that area.
What does your original lease say? Does it say you can pro-rate the month if you leave early? If not, sounds like your out of luck.
No termination fee means no penalty fee in addition to the month's rent.
It's all silent on how much is owed for the month in which the 60-day notice runs up. So the complex is wanting to charge for rent beyond the end of our lease; this seems similar to charging us for a full month's rent if we moved in during the middle of the month, which they wouldn't do because they'd be charging us for rent outside of the term of our lease with which we've fully complied.
As a separate question, what happens if we refuse to pay the full month and pay the pro-rated amount instead? What negative consequences could that have? It only works out to about $350 extra on our part, so it would probably cost the apartment more in a couple hours of legal fees to pursue than it would to let it go. I'm just worried about what it could do to our credit or something.
It's all silent on how much is owed for the month in which the 60-day notice runs up. So the complex is wanting to charge for rent beyond the end of our lease; this seems similar to charging us for a full month's rent if we moved in during the middle of the month, which they wouldn't do because they'd be charging us for rent outside of the term of our lease with which we've fully complied.
As a separate question, what happens if we refuse to pay the full month and pay the pro-rated amount instead? What negative consequences could that have? It only works out to about $350 extra on our part, so it would probably cost the apartment more in a couple hours of legal fees to pursue than it would to let it go. I'm just worried about what it could do to our credit or something.
The landlord could take the rest of the rent out of your security deposit, if your STATE law allows it. (Ohio is one that does allow that for example).
The landlord could take the rest of the rent out of your security deposit, if your STATE law allows it. (Ohio is one that does allow that for example).
Not sure if Florida allows it or not, but I would bet that it does. Our security deposit is smaller than the amount in dispute (I actually forgot it since we originally rented this place a year and a half ago), so that would leave them about $125 short if they kept the deposit.
Look at your lease. It sounds as if you won't be charged a fee for breaking a lease, but nothing about owing rent. The landlord is probably not renting out the apartment the day after you are moving out. Find out when the new tenants are moving in, he can't double dip.
\The landlord is probably not renting out the apartment the day after you are moving out. Find out when the new tenants are moving in, he can't double dip.
Yes he can double dip. If rent is paid by the month, and you leave early, that is your loss.
Same goes if you order a burger at a restaurant. You don't pay by the bite. You pay for the whole burger.
He could sue you and easily win. His legal fees will also be awarded, so you will owe the rent and his legal fees. He could also report you to the credit bureaus which could hurt your chances of getting another rental or buying a house.
Yes he can double dip. If rent is paid by the month, and you leave early, that is your loss.
Same goes if you order a burger at a restaurant. You don't pay by the bite. You pay for the whole burger.
He could sue you and easily win. His legal fees will also be awarded, so you will owe the rent and his legal fees. He could also report you to the credit bureaus which could hurt your chances of getting another rental or buying a house.
Will he do this? Who knows... but he can.
Thanks for the input (and to whichever mod moved this). I'm not sure buying a burger is inaccurate comparison, though. I just spoke with a local attorney I know and he seemed to think that the law is stacked against the landlord here. I also don't see how he can "double dip." If you want to use the burger analogy, if I pay the full price, the entire burger is mine regardless of whether I eat it or throw it in the trash. He can't take it back from my tray and sell it to another customer simply because I'm not eating it.
I would need to see the actual wording of your lease. But, here are a few thoughts.
As I recall, in FL there is now a clause that's supposed to be added to leases, where the tenant chooses to pay 2 months rent as a liquidated damages clause, or the tenant chooses not to do this, and then hope the landlord finds a new tenant sooner than that, but also takes the gamble that the LL may not even try to rent the place out and just collect rent from the tenant until the lease expires.
So, without looking up that law for you right now, look at your lease at the exact wording of the 60 day notice.
In FL, though, with this termination agreement of 60 days, a LL is allowed to double dip. That's my recollection. I can look up the law if necessary.
Now, as far as the ending of your lease date. Again, check your lease. What is normal in most states, is that you have to give notice at the beginning of the month, for the notice period to start. So, in your case, giving notice June 14th, would mean your 60 days doesn't start until July 1st. So, you'd be on the hook for rent through August.
If you only pay rent for 14 days in August, and the landlord is entitled to full rent, he can actually start eviction proceedings for non-payment of rent. You can be evicted if you only pay partial rent.
Hope that helped. The key is in how the lease is worded, and how Florida counts "notice." In CA it's calendar days (so your notice would have ended August 14th). But, many states are not calendar day notice. You'd have to check and see FL law, if your lease doesn't spell it out.
I would need to see the actual wording of your lease. But, here are a few thoughts.
As I recall, in FL there is now a clause that's supposed to be added to leases, where the tenant chooses to pay 2 months rent as a liquidated damages clause, or the tenant chooses not to do this, and then hope the landlord finds a new tenant sooner than that, but also takes the gamble that the LL may not even try to rent the place out and just collect rent from the tenant until the lease expires.
So, without looking up that law for you right now, look at your lease at the exact wording of the 60 day notice.
In FL, though, with this termination agreement of 60 days, a LL is allowed to double dip. That's my recollection. I can look up the law if necessary.
Now, as far as the ending of your lease date. Again, check your lease. What is normal in most states, is that you have to give notice at the beginning of the month, for the notice period to start. So, in your case, giving notice June 14th, would mean your 60 days doesn't start until July 1st. So, you'd be on the hook for rent through August.
If you only pay rent for 14 days in August, and the landlord is entitled to full rent, he can actually start eviction proceedings for non-payment of rent. You can be evicted if you only pay partial rent.
Hope that helped. The key is in how the lease is worded, and how Florida counts "notice." In CA it's calendar days (so your notice would have ended August 14th). But, many states are not calendar day notice. You'd have to check and see FL law, if your lease doesn't spell it out.
Thank you for the input. After reading the Florida Statutes more closely, there's a clause - 83.595(4a) - that states in addition to liquidation or early termination fees (for which we're off the hook because of the agreement we worked out with them), the LL is entitled to rent accrued through the end of the month in which the LL takes possession. Seems really unfair and misleading since the law requires "60 days" (not 60 days form the start of the next rent due-date), but pretty straightforward to me.
Perhaps someone else can take a look and let me know if I'm reading that correctly.
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