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I kinda have a feeling that this will be happening ...
Imagine I did not have a habit of documenting everything!
Few people do. But surprise! The Judges know that too.
You'll owe rent until the minute the new tenant began paying... of course.
But only a JERK would make an issue about "pro rating" between the specific dates.
In short... at least some of what he told you to pay IS likely due him regardless.
But the finding of a new tenant was HIS job in any case and NOT some favor to you.
Do some reading on "mitigation"
Quote:
Originally Posted by NOLO
LINK
This is because North Carolina requires landlords to take reasonable steps to keep their losses to a minimum —or to "mitigate damages" in legal terms. ...
Your landlord must try to rerent the property reasonably quickly and subtract the rent received from new tenants from the amount you owe.
Moved out on 2nd and the new people moved in on the 15th!
So you owed for that month even if you did not break the lease. Assume the property is rented by the month and not by the day.
Very common for a landlord have a early lease termination fee in the lease. Most common amount I see is equal to 2 months rent.
But to answer your question. You would need to go to small claims court. And depends on your local Judge. He could just say they are only entitled to actual damages. So what ever amount they actually loss. Which is loss rent and any cost to re rent.
In some states the operation of law is such that it is easy to outsmart mgmt companies .
My ex wife did just that ..she couldn’t afford the apartment anymore she was renting in a big development..
We finally evicted our tenant in the coop we owned so my ex was going to move in .
A top notch real estate attorney we used told my ex exactly how to break the lease and the mgmt company would not be able to collect a dime from her for doing so .
It worked like a charm .
He had her send them a letter he wrote advising them that on such and such a date she would be SURRENDERING the keys to them , and she gave them the coop address so they can send her deposit there .
Well , as expected the mgmt company filed the letter away .
The day came , she SURRENDERED the keys , they took them back and 3 months later she gets a bill for a month and a half rent .
What they failed to realize is under New York’s surrender and control laws they never realized that they accepted her terms of surrender by not replying and saying it was unacceptable.
They told her that is nuts and they never heard of such a thing .
So they must have consulted their attorneys and learned they blew it ..they credited the bill and sent her the full refund.
They also made another mistake ..they went in to the apartment and started fixing it to re-rent without written authorization from her .
They were deemed to have taken back control of the apartment...they can’t claim they are holding her to the lease and at the same time take control back .
They needed to get an authorization from her to mitigate the damages if they were trying to rent on her behalf . Otherwise they are deemed taking back control of the apartment and re-renting on their behalf not hers . Especially since they re- rented for more money .
So it was a double whammy for the mgmt company..many states have these surrender and control laws that apply to business contracts ...but smart attorneys have been using these laws to escape lease breaking penalties as most workers are not aware they are being set up for it
In some states the operation of law is such that it is easy to outsmart mgmt companies .
My ex wife did just that ..she couldn’t afford the apartment anymore she was renting in a big development..
We finally evicted our tenant in the coop we owned so my ex was going to move in .
A top notch real estate attorney we used told my ex exactly how to break the lease and the mgmt company would not be able to collect a dime from her for doing so .
It worked like a charm .
He had her send them a letter he wrote advising them that on such and such a date she would be SURRENDERING the keys to them , and she gave them the coop address so they can send her deposit there .
Well , as expected the mgmt company filed the letter away .
The day came , she SURRENDERED the keys , they took them back and 3 months later she gets a bill for a month and a half rent .
What they failed to realize is under New York’s surrender and control laws they never realized that they accepted her terms of surrender by not replying and saying it was unacceptable.
They told her that is nuts and they never heard of such a thing .
So they must have consulted their attorneys and learned they blew it ..they credited the bill and sent her the full refund.
They also made another mistake ..they went in to the apartment and started fixing it to re-rent without written authorization from her .
They were deemed to have taken back control of the apartment...they can’t claim they are holding her to the lease and at the same time take control back .
They needed to get an authorization from her to mitigate the damages if they were trying to rent on her behalf . Otherwise they are deemed taking back control of the apartment and re-renting on their behalf not hers . Especially since they re- rented for more money .
So it was a double whammy for the mgmt company..many states have these surrender and control laws that apply to business contracts ...but smart attorneys have been using these laws to escape lease breaking penalties as most workers are not aware they are being set up for it
That would depend on the state. Our Judges would say the terms of the lease are still valid and enforceable. Unless both parties agree to change the agreement.
And if keys are return or not. LL has a duty to protect / inspect their property. When they know it is vacant. And if not in the lease. They do have to try and limit damages. So actually required to go in and fix the place up. And make a reasonable effort to re rent. Which would usually take a moth or two.
Which when you think about it is fair to everyone.
Here landlords can try to mitigate a tenants damages by rerenting but they need authorization from the tenant to fix and make ready for rerenting or else they have taken back control for their own benefit if they just go back in because the place is vacant .
They cannot claim it is still the tenants apartment under the lease , yet take back control on their own and start to fix and paint .
Very few landlords know a shrewd tenant who is familiar with these little known laws can use them to get out of being held to the lease .
Unknowingly in most states they have similar laws that few are aware of .
This mgmt company here with thousands of apartments never heard of anything like this before , but their attorneys were aware that they blew it once they looked in to it .
It falls out under a states surrender and control laws which in some shape or form is alive and well in many states.
The surrender laws were used in commercial business contracts so fast changes could be made in written contracts but courts have been upholding them in real estate cases.
Almost all landlords think they know their state laws and think what’s in the their lease rules , but few are aware of lots of twists and turns in contract law that exist and is known by only a shrewd selct bunch of attorneys specializing in these areas
Which is how we learned about it here in New York where we never heard of such things before and I was a landlord for 30 years ..
Last edited by mathjak107; 08-10-2021 at 03:44 PM..
So you owed for that month even if you did not break the lease. Assume the property is rented by the month and not by the day.
Very common for a landlord have a early lease termination fee in the lease. Most common amount I see is equal to 2 months rent.
But to answer your question. You would need to go to small claims court. And depends on your local Judge. He could just say they are only entitled to actual damages. So what ever amount they actually loss. Which is loss rent and any cost to re rent.
I broke the lease because I came up on orders, I'm active duty. He wouldn't be allowed to charge an early termination fee but I am required to pay rent for the remainder of that month plus an additional month. He also has a deposit of one month that he received from me on move in. Now if someone moved in before the next month's rent was due and he asks me to pay anyways without mentioning that someone had already moved in- come on, that's shady.
That would depend on the state. Our Judges would say the terms of the lease are still valid and enforceable. Unless both parties agree to change the agreement.
And if keys are return or not. LL has a duty to protect / inspect their property. When they know it is vacant. And if not in the lease. They do have to try and limit damages. So actually required to go in and fix the place up. And make a reasonable effort to re rent. Which would usually take a moth or two.
Which when you think about it is fair to everyone.
The home was left clean and I wold say move-in ready for the next people. That is probably why he was able to rent it out so quickly. There was nothing to fix besides the items that were damaged before I moved in. He made a few attempts and tried to charge me but I had pictures that I had taken on move in day for every single thing in the home, so he let it go.
Few people do. But surprise! The Judges know that too.
You'll owe rent until the minute the new tenant began paying... of course.
But only a JERK would make an issue about "pro rating" between the specific dates.
In short... at least some of what he told you to pay IS likely due him regardless.
But the finding of a new tenant was HIS job in any case and NOT some favor to you.
Do some reading on "mitigation"
Will do! Yeah, he clearly thinks I am an idiot. He constantly talks about having companies coming in to fix things when it is clear that he does everything himself in a VERY SLOPPY manner and tries to charge people horrendous amounts of money for it.
He charged my neighbor 100$ for painting over 4 small white spots on the wall (they had filled the small holes left by nails) and 100$ for "cleaning" although they left the home clean. Of course they payed up because they had no choice at that point. But when they moved in, 3 rooms in that house had similar spots that he did not paint over and the home was not clean- I have seen the pictures. How can you expect for tenants to return a home in a condition better than that they had received it??
I broke the lease because I came up on orders, I'm active duty. He wouldn't be allowed to charge an early termination fee but I am required to pay rent for the remainder of that month plus an additional month. He also has a deposit of one month that he received from me on move in. Now if someone moved in before the next month's rent was due and he asks me to pay anyways without mentioning that someone had already moved in- come on, that's shady.
Yes agree a little shady. But so is what the guy from NY posted. And can still be legal even if shady and unfair.
I broke the lease because I came up on orders, I'm active duty. He wouldn't be allowed to charge an early termination fee but I am required to pay rent for the remainder of that month plus an additional month. He also has a deposit of one month that he received from me on move in. Now if someone moved in before the next month's rent was due and he asks me to pay anyways without mentioning that someone had already moved in- come on, that's shady.
Make an appointment at legal on base. Bring all your paperwork. They will write a letter that will probably take care of the issue if your facts are correct.
Also, next time ask legal for a move out inspection on your behalf. Those inspectors/services aren't just for military housing, they are for off base private rentals too.
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