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My sister signed a 1yr lease and moved into an apartment complex back in June 2019. As June 2020 was approaching she never heard anything from management so she continued to reside in the apartment and figured she was now month to month with no rent increase.
Last week she received a letter stating she was short paying her rent because it had increased starting June 2020. So she called the office explaining she never got any notification as such. They claim they sent a letter back in April of 2020 indicating a rent increase. She never got it, so they mailed her a copy. Besides indicating the increase in rent, the letter also said they if they did not hear from her the lease would automatically be extended for another year.
They are now telling her she is under lease until the end of May 2021. Is that even legal without a signature?
Depends on the State. Some allow auto renewals, others prohibit it and still others are silent. We also need to know what the lease says about end of lease clauses as there could be something specific regarding her responsibilities and/or the landlord's responsibilities.
Our leases automatically renew with a 5% increase. I've only had one tenant claim they didn't realize that even though it's clearly stated in the lease.
If they didn't put it in the least, I think they'll have a hard time defending it to a judge, but it depends on what they actually sent and the state's laws.
Letter says IF they don't hear from her by certain date SHE excepts the terms. What I Don't Understand is WHY didn't Your Sister contact the Office... Does Not matter if she got the letter or not. She Knew her lease was Ending. I Suggest she catch up the back amount & IF she Does Not agree Move!
Letter says IF they don't hear from her by certain date SHE excepts the terms. What I Don't Understand is WHY didn't Your Sister contact the Office... Does Not matter if she got the letter or not. She Knew her lease was Ending. I Suggest she catch up the back amount & IF she Does Not agree Move!
She was under the impression that after the lease was up she would be converted to month to month. She claims she was verbally told that at the signing of the lease. There is nothing in the lease that says anything about auto renewal, however the letter that was supposedly sent out before hand kind of contradicts itself.
There are 2 pages to the letter. One page says;If you remain in possession on or after June 1, it will be considered on your part to rent the apt subject to all rental terms and present lease terms.
The other page were she would sign it says; Regardless whether you sign the yearly lease renewal or stay as a month to month tenancy, your rent will increase as per the following form.
She already paid the amount that she unknowingly shorted them. Her concern now is she plans on moving out sometime towards the end of this year months before what they are telling her she is under lease for.
I googled "auto lease renewal for the state of Pa". What I am getting is that it is an "consumer protection statute" and not actually an enforceable law, what ever that means.
Did she Sign the Yearly Lease? IF NOT then she Month to month and needs to Pay & Give a 30 Day In Writing Notice when she moves. IF she Signed for the Whole Year She needs to Read the lease part on Early Termination. She can contact the office and ask them Or contact a Tenant Advisory Group in her area.
Whether or not the lease automatically renewed depends on what the original lease that she signed said about renewal. If there is such a clause, then she likely auto renewed. If that lease said nothing about auto renew, then a letter from the landlord, without her written agreement, should not be renew the lease. The landlord can raise her rent on month to month status after the last lease expired.
What I am getting is that it is an "consumer protection statute" and not actually an enforceable law, what ever that means.
What it means is she is governed by whatever is in the written lease. If the actual written lease does not state it auto renews or have any clause regarding renewals, she's most likely month-to-month. If there is something in the lease, you have to follow that track into the station. Renewals clauses can be in a separate section or under anything from lease termination to lease renewal, from a section on notices to the lease terms at the beginning. So reread the lease again looking for anything that mentions anything about the lease term especially if it's not an absolute fixed term lease.
What it means is she is governed by whatever is in the written lease. If the actual written lease does not state it auto renews or have any clause regarding renewals, she's most likely month-to-month. If there is something in the lease, you have to follow that track into the station. Renewals clauses can be in a separate section or under anything from lease termination to lease renewal, from a section on notices to the lease terms at the beginning. So reread the lease again looking for anything that mentions anything about the lease term especially if it's not an absolute fixed term lease.
I don't think anything in the letter you quoted automatically renews the lease for another year in the absence of her signature, or the absence of an auto-renewal clause in the original lease. It doesn't inherently contradict itself, because the original lease would have dates on it, once those dates have passed they aren't relevant. The "all rental terms and present lease terms" means that the rent is still due on the first, she can't play loud music at midnight on Tuesday, etc.
She was under the impression that after the lease was up she would be converted to month to month. She claims she was verbally told that at the signing of the lease. There is nothing in the lease that says anything about auto renewal, however the letter that was supposedly sent out before hand kind of contradicts itself.
There are 2 pages to the letter. One page says;If you remain in possession on or after June 1, it will be considered on your part to rent the apt subject to all rental terms and present lease terms.
The other page were she would sign it says; Regardless whether you sign the yearly lease renewal or stay as a month to month tenancy, your rent will increase as per the following form.
She already paid the amount that she unknowingly shorted them. Her concern now is she plans on moving out sometime towards the end of this year months before what they are telling her she is under lease for.
I googled "auto lease renewal for the state of Pa". What I am getting is that it is an "consumer protection statute" and not actually an enforceable law, what ever that means.
Have her pay and give a 30 day notice to be fair. She should explain that she was told it would be month to month. And that she believes a Judge would interpret the lease the same way. This is what counts not what their rules are that are not in the lease.
What she was told by itself does not mean much.
BUT add in what the lease said.
"Regardless whether you sign the yearly lease renewal or stay as a month to month tenancy, your rent will increase as per the following form"
This clearly states the only two options that allow a rent increase. And they cant have it both ways. She did not sign, so is a month to month.
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