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We have lived in a condo for 5 years and our lease ended August 2017. We bought a house, had a very fast escrow and gave notice to our landlord on 8/28. We are moving out 9/10, landlord demanded we pay all of Septembers rent which we have.
We live on the coast in Southern California and our condo will rent within hours of being listed. The landlord still hasn't listed the condo for rent 5 days later (we offered to show the unit and I sent her 25 photos for the listing which she requested). My question is weather or not I should turn over the keys when we move out or keep them until she rents the unit or 9/30 whichever comes first.
There is going to be some down time after we move for painting and carpet, is this time we pay rent for? I just don't really trust my landlord to rent the unity quickly and think she will use the second half of the month (with my prepaid rent) to repair and re-rent. I would like that to happen during the first half of the month and get some prorated rent back.
Really this comes down to trust, do I hand her the keys 9/11 and hope that she rents the unit in a timely manner or do I keep the keys and force her to lose part of October's rent to repair the condo for move in?
Pack up, get out, clean up... and then have her in to inspect for condition.
Get the 'satisfactory' answer in writing as it affects deposit refund LINK
Then turn over the keys.
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Demanding Sept rent was within law of course but was also rather petty.
Demanding more is absolutely so.
Quote:
There is going to be some down time after we move for painting and carpet,
is this time we pay rent for?
If that's all that's needed the work can be done within a week.
And it's the same work she would have to do regardless of when you moved out.
Advertise well in a tight market and it can be rented at YOUR rate in an hour...
a current rent rates it will still rent promptly. That's her job to do.
After five years of presumably adequate tenancy... you don't owe her anything.
1. Turn in keys now. There is a chance you could get money back due to the unit being rented early.
2. Turn in keys later. There is no chance you could get money back.
So, the real question is, is sticking it to them worth the chance of getting some of your rent money back? Only you can decide that.
(And to be honest, I'm sure your lease required a 30 day notice to move out. You were giving less than two weeks. Any landlord would have held you to the 30 day notice. They weren't being mean, rude, or uncooperative. Just making you comply with what you agreed to do when you signed the lease.)
All good points, especially our current rent rate versus market.
My "pressure point" is whether or not telling her that I intended to hold the keys in October 1st (which I have paid for) will motivate her to move faster in renting/repairing. I am looking for advice on how to generate some type of leverage to recover a portion of pro-rated rent from 9/10 - 9/30.
Given her less then generous response on us moving out after 5 years of paying rent on time, repairing most items ourselves and paying for permanent improvements (tile and ceiling fan). I am now also worried about the security deposit. Security deposit is an entirely separate issue.
Given her less then generous response on us moving out after 5 years of paying rent on time, repairing most items ourselves and paying for permanent improvements (tile and ceiling fan). I am now also worried about the security deposit. Security deposit is an entirely separate issue.
Renting property is a business. You signed a lease agreeing to give them a certain amount of notice prior to moving out. (I understand your lease ended, but even if it ends you have to give written notice you are vacating or it will convert to month-to-month with the same terms.) Why should they be financially responsible for you failing to hold up your end of the bargain? Holding you to your lease doesn't make them less than generous.
My "pressure point" is whether or not telling her that I intended to hold the keys in October 1st (which I have paid for) will motivate her to move faster in renting/repairing. I am looking for advice on how to generate some type of leverage to recover a portion of pro-rated rent from 9/10 - 9/30.
Option 1: Instead of worrying about getting over on somebody, turn the keys in and move on with your life. If the LL happens to rent it out quickly and you get some money back - great.
Option 2: Seriously, I don't know how making the landlord think you won't vacate until Oct 1 will get the unit rehabbed and rented sooner. Most likely it would be the contrary. But have at it.
I don't want to "get over" on my landlord and I do agree that she is entitled to a full months rent as agreed to in our lease.
What I was trying to get some advice on is whether it is to my advantage to hold onto the keys until the end of the month and have her try and negotiate with me for an earlier turn in (therefore creating some motivation for her to rehab, rent and return some of my rent) or to turn over the keys and hope for the best. I just drives me a little crazy knowing that if she wanted to, she could rent the unit in days, even at market rate.
Seems like the general feedback is: You had to pay for September, vacate on the 10th and kiss the remaining 20 days worth of rent goodbye.
I don't want to "get over" on my landlord and I do agree that she is entitled to a full months rent as agreed to in our lease.
What I was trying to get some advice on is whether it is to my advantage to hold onto the keys until the end of the month and have her try and negotiate with me for an earlier turn in (therefore creating some motivation for her to rehab, rent and return some of my rent) or to turn over the keys and hope for the best. I just drives me a little crazy knowing that if she wanted to, she could rent the unit in days, even at market rate.
Seems like the general feedback is: You had to pay for September, vacate on the 10th and kiss the remaining 20 days worth of rent goodbye.
Basically, yes. The only chance you have of seeing any money is to get the keys in their hand as soon as possible. However, it isn't up to you to dictate when they work on it. And, honestly, rehab, find a tenant, and the tenant moving in in 20 days is not likely. The most you are going to see back is a couple of days rent.
I broke a lease in March. Turned the notice in the last week of February for a March 31 move out. They found a new tenant quickly (they actually had someone's contact information who was interested in a washer/dryer unit), but the new tenant wasn't moving in until April 15th. I turned the keys in early- on the 22nd. The apartment was ready on April 1st. I had to pay rent for an empty, ready apartment for those first 14 days of April. Was I happy about it? Not at all. But I was glad that did line up a tenant quickly. After they used my security deposit to pay for April's rent, I only owed about $60. Not bad since my least didn't end until August 31st.
So, basically, you can choose to continue to dwell on this and be a jerk, holding the keys hostage. That is your prerogative. Or you can just turn the keys in and be done with it, move on, and enjoy your new house. It won't cost you anything financially to turn them in early. Honestly, it could save you if you can have the utilities shut off in your name the day you surrender keys.
I don't want to "get over" on my landlord and I do agree that she is entitled to a full months rent as agreed to in our lease.
What I was trying to get some advice on is whether it is to my advantage to hold onto the keys until the end of the month and have her try and negotiate with me for an earlier turn in (therefore creating some motivation for her to rehab, rent and return some of my rent) or to turn over the keys and hope for the best. I just drives me a little crazy knowing that if she wanted to, she could rent the unit in days, even at market rate.
Seems like the general feedback is: You had to pay for September, vacate on the 10th and kiss the remaining 20 days worth of rent goodbye.
You are not required to return the keys until the last day you paid for expires. if the LL has a tenant jumping to get in you can tell her you're willing to sutprrender earlier if she refunds the unused days. Get it in writing.
Is it a good idea to return the keys early? Imo there is no benefit to you to give up possession earlier than you are required to. The LL is still required to give notice to enter as it's still your property. Moving out does not by any means require you to surrender the keys. The propertynos unoccupied because you are in fact still renting the space.
Make sure you request and get a preliminary walk through where the LL can pointkout what she wants repaired etc so you can get your deposit back. And get that in writing.
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