Landlord making improvements to apartment before lease is over (new house, tenants)

[davidj1981]

My apartment lease is over at the end of October. We moved into our new house in August, however I have paid August (and now September) rent. We told the landlord that he could start showing the apartment early, and if he was able to find a tenant who wanted to move in early, we could accommodate them. We never told the landlord we were abandoning the property or gave him the keys back.

I received an email over the weekend from the landlord who claimed there had been flooding in the apartment and he wanted my permission to have workers visit the apartment. I did not respond to his request. Today I visited the apartment and do not see any signs of flooding. However I did find paperwork for potential new tenants on my counter showing that they were planning to replace the floors, bathroom fixtures, and dishwasher. There was also a power washer on the balcony that was used to clean the outside windows and the balcony.

My fear is that my landlord is planning on using my security deposit to pay for these upgrades and to do them this month while I am still paying rent instead of after the lease ends. Do I have any recourse? Do the landlords actions allow me to end my lease now?

[Dan Mason]

You can't do anything about what you think he may or may not do.

Is he giving you 24-hour notice before entering? What does your lease say? I would talk to him about access, notice, and the expectations here.

As far as the security deposit I believe in NJ you can sue him for treble damages for anything that he unjustly doesn't return to you.

[cw30000]

Flooding is not a tenant's responsibility. He already give you a notice and he is allowed to get into the apartment.

Flooding is only the tenant's responsibility if and only if the tenant know about he flood and said nothing, which created more damage

[Kthnry]

I'm a landlord. The owner has the right to enter the unit to deal with flood repairs. The fact that you don't see any signs of flooding doesn't mean it didn't happen. Why didn't you respond? However, I don't see how a landlord has the right to enter and make improvements for the next tenant while you're still paying rent. I think the landlord should offer to release you from the lease early so he can get the work done.