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I am in the process of moving my great grandma (she will be 97 in March) to a new apartment complex.
To make a very long story short. She lives in a 5 bedroom 5 bath unit in Florida. Six years ago when she moved in, it was a 55+ community. But because they were having problems filling the units, they opened the complex up to all ages, including weekly and monthly rentals. She has had a string of different room mates. Currently, there is another younger couple living with her. They are in their 50's and a husband and wife even though she specified "no men" on her roommate application. Personally, I have met the couple and they are nice. But I can understand how a 96 year old single woman would not feel comfortable sharing an apartment with a man. She no longer felt safe, thus she wanted to move. According to the leasing office, they asked her if she would mind living with a couple. To which she replied she didn't have a problem. I don't know if this is true. She doesn't remember. There has been other issues in the past too including her AC dying in the middle of a Florida Summer as well as a busted pipe in the apartment above her, which caused her ceiling to leak and grow mold.
She is on a 6 month lease, which expires February 1, 2014. Shortly after signing her CURRENT lease in August 2013, the leasing company presented her with her NEW lease that she signed in September 2013, which takes effect on February 1, 2014. The leasing company said she signed her new lease early because she would be getting a break on her monthly rent. Even though her new lease has her rent going up, the leasing company states that it's not going up AS MUCH, thus she's saving money...
We have followed the proper protocol by providing 30 days notice (stated in the lease agreement) and her move-out date as of February 1st. Now the leasing company is saying she's breaking her lease because she signed a new one and they want to charge her one month's rent to break her lease.
Our understanding is that she isn't breaking her new lease because it hasn't taken effect yet and, instead, she is fulfilling her old lease and should not be charged a penalty.
Can anyone provide any insight? It's not so much the money at this point. It's basically a **** poor management company and the way they're treating my very old great grandma after 6 years of being a loyal tenant.
I suspect that she is bound by the new lease because she signed it. Signing early is not grounds to break a lease.
Maybe the lease isn't valid if your grandma is no longer mentally competent. You might consult with whatever agency handles elder issues in your city. Perhaps granny is being taken advantage of because her mental abilities are no longer adequate for her to make her own decisions?
She signed it so it is valid. Now you have to decide. Is 1 months rent worth the months it will take to 1. Declare your great grandmother incompetent. 2. Prove she was not mentally capable of signing a new lease back then. 3. Then sue to get the lease nullified. This is something that may cost you thousands and months of time and heartache. And in the end you have a woman that has been declared incompetent. You have taken away her free will to some degree. What will happen to her?
I agree she is on the hook for the new lease. Paying a one month fee to break the new lease is a pretty good deal. You should take it, otherwise she could be on the hook for rent for as many months as it takes for the landlord to find a tenant to replace her on the new lease. That could be tough given that they would have to share the apartment with another couple.
Take the deal but make sure it is clearly spelled out in writing.
Is the early termination fee of 30 days rent in the lease she signed? Or did they pull a rabbit out of their hat and came up with that figure?
The FL law that I just learned about regarding early termination for leases, requires an addendum to the lease that gives the tenant the choice between either a flat fee to terminate early, or to use the old law, which states a LL can charge rent until they find another tenant.
See if she signed such an addendum. If she checked the box that says she'll pay an early termination fee, by law they can charge her up to 2 months rent - but of course, the amount has to be spelled out in the lease.
If she chose to take her chances on the old law, then she's stuck for rent until they rent to someone else. I would expect it would take them at least 30 days.
So, either way, it looks like 30 days is not a bad deal. IF the court would find it a valid contract.
So, first, see if there is an addendum. According to the FL govt website I saw, the addendum must also include specific language.
I'm wondering if they didn't do this addendum properly, if she might be off the hook just for that.
Once you know where you stand regarding the addendum, then you may want to try a bluff on them. You could always tell them that they can just sue you and you will be happy to tell the judge about how they were taking advantage of a 96 year old woman.
Personally, I'd try a letter telling them they better back off on the 30 day's worth of rent, or you will be happy to see them in court, and you'll be talking to an elder law attorney, too.
If it doesn't work, and they pursue her for the money, she can always pay just up before going to court. But, just maybe, they'll let it go :-)
Here's the FL law with the correct language for the addendum at the bottom of the page:
There is nothing in the law prohibiting a landlord from offering the 30 day termination fee after the fact, in exchange for agreeing to let the tenant out of the lease obligations they would have otherwise been obligated to.
Despite her age in numbers (96), she defies the odds. Looking and talking to her, you would think she was in her 70's. Her memory is sharp, lives on her own (both the old and new complex are NOT ACLFs), goes out every Monday with her girlfriends to lunch, goes out with me every week to the grocery store, etc etc etc. To diminish her mental capacities would be a blatant lie. Plus if she ever found out that I played "the age card," she would be very upset.
As far as the lease goes, the 30 day notice is signed and the addendum is properly worded and explicitly states (with correct wording) about paying the one month's rent to break the lease. Our issue wasn't the wording with the lease, but whether the new lease was actually valid. But I understand what you all meant by checking the wording.
We didn't think you could have 2 leases in effect at once. But judging on the answers, it looks like we are SOOL.
I do like the idea of writing a letter though. The leasing agents aren't the most professional. I have pictures of their offices. Food on the floor. Piles of papers sitting on chairs. They work in cargo shorts and tshirts. Overflowing ashtrays by the entrance ways etc etc. I think it might be worth writing a letter to the management company, including pictures of their unprofessionalism, with our story and the way it was handled. I don't think it could hurt.
You don't have two leases...you have the current lease and the future lease...most renewal leases are signed 30-60 days BEFORE the old one expires.
If she signed a renewal lease, she's on the hook for it. In Florida she can give her notice (60 days in some cases) and pay her 2 mth rent penalty and move out.
You don't have two leases...you have the current lease and the future lease...most renewal leases are signed 30-60 days BEFORE the old one expires.
If she signed a renewal lease, she's on the hook for it. In Florida she can give her notice (60 days in some cases) and pay her 2 mth rent penalty and move out.
Yes, Thank you.
However, we thought it was odd that she was presented with a renewal lease 5 MONTHS before the current lease expired.
OP, discuss this with your granny, and if she agrees, then both of you sign a letter for the management that states, that you must be consulted to check any documents before she signs them. I don't know what sort of legal standing that letter would have, but if management is given that letter, you have a stronger case in the future to claim that she was taken advantage of because of her age.
Any rental court time is most likely to be in small claims court, where the law sometimes get bent to fit common sense so the letter doesn't have to be a 100% legally recognized type of document. You would be able to show the judge that your granny informed them that she wanted documents looked at by someone she trusted and if they ignored that request, the judge isn't going to look favorably at management's behavior.
Your best option, it appears to me, is to pay the lease breaking fee and get her moved out.
Have you looked to see if there is a place to move her to, that she can afford and the management and maintenance are good? It sounds suspiciously to me like she is in an inexpensive place and cheap rentals that are good enough to live in can be difficult to find and to get accepted into.
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