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I had a year long lease on an apartment there in Vineland. I know I did not give enough notification about my breaking the lease and moving out early. I thought I only had to give 30 days but my lease says 60 days. My plan was to move at the end of June. I had a new teaching job across the country in Arizona. I gave written notification on May 4 but ended up moving on May 29 due to some unforeseen circumstances.
My lease states and I know that I would need to pay the remaining months left on the lease (June, July, and August) unless the apartment got rented out because I was moving out before the end of the lease on Aug 31. I paid for June when I went to turn in my keys and sign off on my move out paperwork since the office manager told me they had a tenant needing to move into a 1 bedroom in July and they needed time to inspect, clean, etc and that they would be in touch with me. I heard nothing from them after that.
I did not receive any calls or letters from them until last Saturday, July 11. I had them mail things to my parents' home in Nebraska since I did not know how long this would take. I am now in Arizona. I had my mom open the certified letter from the apartment complex. She scanned and emailed me a copy of the letter and is mailing me the original. It stated that I did not give proper notice, which I know I did not and they are keeping my deposit to cover the remaining rent on the apartment and that I owe additional money. On the bright side, I owed nothing for damages or cleaning. The letter is dated June 16. But the postmark date on the envelope is July 7.
When I called the apartment office on Monday, July 13 and spoke to the apartment manager, she told me the tenant did not get Section 8 approval and was not able to move in, They had the apartment advertised and were trying to find a tenant. I asked about them keeping my deposit and owing more rent. She said I didn't need to pay anything yet and that she would be in touch. She said they were trying to make it within the 30 days, but I said they did not make it. We kind of left it like that.
After I hung up, I went searching on line to find out what to do about this situation. It is my understanding the NJ landlords had 30 days to return a security deposit or give an account of why the deposit was not being returned. If I moved out on May 29, then they were late in sending this letter and are not entitled to keep my security deposit. Am I understanding this correctly and if I am what can I do to get my deposit back? That extra money would sure be helpful in paying off moving expenses.
It is 30 days in NJ, you are correct. You surrendered the unit on May 29th. July 7th is past 30 days.
You can always inform the LL of the issue and request your deposit back. But if the LL says "sue me", what does it cost for a round trip ticket to NJ/accommodations and a day wasted in small claims court?
I hope that when I call them back tomorrow and press the 30 day issue they will give back my security deposit. I think they think are within the 30 days because of the date on the letter. But the postmark on the envelope is July 7. Thank God for postmark dates.
Not sure that I would sue. It's not my style. I feel like I am being taken advantage of because I am across the country. They have been a good company. They always responded quickly to maintenance needs and were friendly. If they had let me know that this tenant was not able to move into my old apartment, I would have been better prepared. But if they did not follow proper procedure then why should I have to pay is my thinking right now.
I hope that when I call them back tomorrow and press the 30 day issue they will give back my security deposit. I think they think are within the 30 days because of the date on the letter. But the postmark on the envelope is July 7. Thank God for postmark dates.
Not sure that I would sue. It's not my style. I feel like I am being taken advantage of because I am across the country. They have been a good company. They always responded quickly to maintenance needs and were friendly. If they had let me know that this tenant was not able to move into my old apartment, I would have been better prepared. But if they did not follow proper procedure then why should I have to pay is my thinking right now.
The date on the letter doesn't count - it had to be SENT to you within 30 days & July 7th is past that.
The letter had to be mailed to you within 30 days. So, sounds like they dropped the ball on that. Then again, you signed a lease where you agreed to give 60 days notice to leave and you didn't - regardless of the NJ law, you signed a lease where you agreed to extend that notification time. So you dropped the ball on that.
You correctly paid for June when you left and they were doing the correct thing in attempting to rent the place you vacated early.
If it had been me? I would have been calling them on June 29th or so to see where the status of the rental was going to be for July 1st when your next rent payment was due. They didn't call you, but it's not really on them to call when you are responsible for paying the rent through August. If you were there, you wouldn't expect them to call to remind you that rent was due. You sound like a responsible renter, they sound like decent landlords. Just some communication mishaps here on both parts.
Perhaps they are holding onto your deposit in case they cannot get it rented and you don't send the rent money for July and August. Once they send it back to you, they have less leverage trying to sue you for it when you live across the country. They might argue that technically your lease is up in August and they can keep the deposit until 30 days past that date. However, I don't think they are trying to do anything maliciously, but get it rented so you can be released from your responsibility. It doesn't sound as if hey are bothering you for July's rent either. You didn't send it right? Because it's late.
Moving is expensive and it would be great to have that cash sooner rather than later, but you did break a lease unexpectedly. So now it's a scramble for them and you. I think trying to keep communication open with them as much as possible will end up the best of both worlds with the least stress.
Good luck in your new job. Next time, maybe it would be a good idea to re-read your lease when considering new job offers. it might save you some aggravation and stress, hopefully.
Security deposit must be accounted for and returned within 30 days of the end of the lease. Since the lease is still in effect, the land lord isn't required to return it. If your apartment wasn't rented by the end of June, and if you don't pay your July rent when it's due, then the LL can use your sec deposit as rent until it runs out or the lease ends, whichever is sooner.
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