Landlord trouble (apartment, renters, month to)

[shadow91]

I have been living in my house for 3 1/2 years. My lease was up Feb 15th and I emailed landlord to see about resigning. I never heard anything from him so assumed I was on month to month. On May 1st I sent him an email and told him I would be moving at the end of the month. So now I get an email from him stating rent is past due, remember lease was signed on the 15th of the month, he is coming over to do a damage check. I told him I would prefer he come at the end of the month after everything moved out and I have had a chance to take pictures of move out condition. What recourse do I have and he said that he is going to start legal proceedings against me if rent was not paid yesterday. In 3 years I have only been late one time and that was 2 days, he called me threatening me then with legal proceedings. I have been here and taken care of this home and there is no damage, I can't understand his behavior.

[wit-nit]

Document everything, take pictures, record conversations if possible, then see if he follows through with his threats. Then if you/he decide to go to court you have some documentation to give to the judge.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by shadow91

...On May 1st I sent him an email and told him I would be moving at the end of the month. So now I get an email from him stating rent is past due, remember lease was signed on the 15th of the month...

My guess is since you gave your 30-day notice on the 1st you are required to pay for May on the 1st as well.

Originally Posted by shadow91

... In 3 years I have only been late one time and that was 2 days, he called me threatening me then with legal proceedings.

My PM does that as well. Although usually renters who are habitually late.

Originally Posted by shadow91

... I have been here and taken care of this home and there is no damage, I can't understand his behavior.

Again my guess would be since you're leaving at the end of the month and haven't paid the rent he wants to know what else might be going on.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by shadow91

On May 1st I sent him an email and told him I would be moving at the end of the month.

Originally Posted by john3232

My guess is since you gave your 30-day notice on the 1st you are required to pay for May on the 1st as well.

Agreed. The notice should have been made on the last day of the previous month.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Kimballette

Agreed. The notice should have been made on the last day of the previous month.

Makes sense to me.

[autism360]

It seems to me if the lease was signed on the 15th and you are month to month paying the rent by the 15th of each month then you needed to give 30 days notice before the 15th not on the last day of the previous month. Unless the original lease changes the rent due date upon expiration the landlord cannot decide to change it without prior written notice and without prorating the rent period so you are not double paying.

[hawkbiz]

I agree with most. Since your rent is apparently paid on the 15th and you did not technically give 30 days notice, you should pay for 5/15 - 6/14. Then your landlord will have no grounds to complain imo.

[john3232]

OP:

When did you tell the landlord you plan to vacate the property?

Do you plan to leave at the end of May?

Or next month on the 14th?

[crystalys]

Just an observation from experience with clients, you can sign a lease on any day of the month but the lease can state that the rent is due on the 1st, 15th or any day of the month. When you move in you pay deposits and any rent due that will start the rental period from the day agreed to in the lease. That is the only day that legally matters as to when rent is due.

I recently had a relative who signed a lease on an apartment on the 15th of the month and was verbally told that since his SS check didn't arrive until the 12th of the month, then his rent would be due on the 15th of every month. He did not ask me to read the lease before he signed it. Starting the next month, on the 5th he got a notice that his rent was late and he would start accruing late fees. He finally came to me and when I read the lease, it stated rent was due on the 1st. I told him it didn't matter what was verbally agreed to, the lease was the written agreement that mattered and his rent would always be due on the 1st because he signed it.

So, to the OP, you are on a month to month lease and it sounds like your original lease states that your rent is due on the 15th and as others have stated, you needed to inform the landlord in writing by the 14th of the month that you would be moving out the 15th of the following month. If you notified the landlord on the 1st of the month, then you are liable for payment of rent through the 15th of the following month, which would be June 15th in your case. So if you paid rent on April 15th then you are not late on rent, but you will need to pay another month on May 15th.