We left our apartment 2 days before our 1 year lease was up. We did not sign an “intent to vacate.” The apartment complex has been trying to us to pay one extra months rent, in along with miscellaneous charges that aren’t correct( water bills and washer/dryer).
My question is do they have any legal right to charge an extra month’s rent simply because we didn’t file this? We are going through our documents looking for our lease. If we agreed to a one year lease, how can they charge us an extra month? We called them the day we left and asked what we needed to do in order to leave, and did as they said. Cleaned the apartment well, and dropped off all keys, etc.
They are now sending this to collections. Their story has changed almost everytime we’ve spoken to them. Especially about the miscellaneous fees.
We left our apartment 2 days before our 1 year lease was up. We did not sign an "intent to vacate." The apartment complex has been trying to us to pay one extra months rent, in along with miscellaneous charges that aren't correct( water bills and washer/dryer).
My question is do they have any legal right to charge an extra month’s rent simply because we didn’t file this? We are going through our documents looking for our lease. If we agreed to a one year lease, how can they charge us an extra month? We called them the day we left and asked what we needed to do in order to leave, and did as they said. Cleaned the apartment well, and dropped off all keys, etc.
They are now sending this to collections. Their story has changed almost everytime we’ve spoken to them. Especially about the miscellaneous fees.
Thanks for your time.
all leases have a section about vacating proceedures either in the middle or at the end of your lease… u could just pickup a new form at the clubhouse and read over it.
[QUOTE=Anborn;289787]all leases have a section about vacating proceedures either in the middle or at the end of your lease… u could just pickup a new form at the clubhouse and read over it.[/QUOTE]
Found our lease, here’s the section:
[QUOTE]
"NOTICE OF TERMINATION, RENEWALS, AND TRANSFER.
Afterthe initial term of this lease, the rental period shall automatically be renewed for successive one month periods at the same monthly rental, and on the other terms set forth in this lease, unless on or before thirty (30) days prior to the last day of the original rental period, or of any renewal rental period, You or We give the other part written notice of termination as of the last day of such rental period. If on or before thirty (30) days prior to the last day of any such rental period, [B]We give You written notice that any renewal shall be at a stated monthly rental different from the previous monthly rental, the renewal shall be at such new stated monthly rental, unless within ten (10) days after Your receipt of such notice, You give Us written notice of Your intent to terminate this lease.[/B]"[/QUOTE]
We never received anything in writing saying that they were going to charge us on a per month basis until otherwise notified.
We never received anything in writing saying that they were going to charge us on a per month basis until otherwise notified.
You highlighted the wrong section of that statement. The beginning is: “After the initial term of this lease, the rental period shall automatically be renewed for successive one month periods at the same monthly rental…unless on or before thirty (30) days prior to the last day of the original rental period, or of any renewal rental period, You or We give the other part written notice of termination as of the last day of such rental period.”
You also stated that you did not receive notice from them. Therefore, the onus was on you to give the rental complex 30 days notice in writing. Since you did not give notice in writing before 30 days at the end of your lease, you are liable for one extra month’s rent (basically the month it would take to give notice).
This is a very typical term in lease agreements. You have to be very careful when signing leases. Make sure to read and understand ALL clauses before signing. This is unfortunately an expensive learning experience.
[SIZE=1]Now for the disclaimer: this is not professional legal advice. I am not providing legal advice but instead my personal interpretation as to the facts, and therefore do not purport to be acting in a legal cacpacity. Please make sure to receive competent legal advice from your respective state if you ever do have a question of law.[/SIZE]
After the initial term of this lease, the rental period shall automatically be renewed for successive one month periods at the same monthly rental, and on the other terms set forth in this lease, unless on or before thirty (30) days prior to the last day of the original rental period, or of any renewal rental period, You or We give the other part written notice of termination as of the last day of such rental period. If on or before thirty (30) days prior to the last day of any such rental period, We give You written notice that any renewal shall be at a stated monthly rental different from the previous monthly rental, the renewal shall be at such new stated monthly rental, unless within ten (10) days after Your receipt of such notice, You give Us written notice of Your intent to terminate this lease."
We never received anything in writing saying that they were going to charge us on a per month basis until otherwise notified.
This is where they’ve got you. This states that if you (or they) do not give a 30-day notice of termination of the lease (at the end of the lease), it automatically goes to a month-to-month lease. If you did not provide, in writing, a notice saying you were not renewing your lease at least 30 days prior to the lease ending, the lease is considered to continue after the initial lease period on a month-to-month basis.
[COLOR=black]take em to court… know somebody who will do it very cheap or free??? They aren’t going to go through the legal stuff paying a lot more money, unless they get you to pay court costs and then ur screwed. But then screw them back by declaring bankruptcy or give them your rent in pennies with coke on it. But they probably only take check or in this case since you are out of there a money order. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]Or break in and steal your contract or better yet, use the line, “I came in here and handed my 30 day notice to who ever was in here. It’s not my fault they didn’t file it away. Maybe they don’t like me because of the color of my skin… I’ll sue you all in a heart beat!!!”[/COLOR]
Hey I’m not a lawyer, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
Of course, SCK hasn't really had any luck getting money from lame renters so you may be fine.
Am I Right?
If it’s a corporate rental company, they will keep your deposit, and if deficient, pass the remainder to a collection agency. If unable to collect, the company has no problem dinging your credit with an outstanding notice. It would lie with you for three or four years, and they would be a horrible rental reference when renting in the future, making renting tougher. Might force the next landlord to raise rates because of the snafu.
If it’s an individulal landlord, they could take you to small claims, which would stink for you because you have a chance of being stuck with some court costs, and it is a pain in the butt to go to court.
Obviously those are the harsher scenarios, but not sure it’s worth it.
Yeah, we are trying to sort things out right now. what sucks is they are trying to get other money from us for rediculous sh*t. Like not paying water bills, and our monthly rent for washer/dryer. We dropped off all stubs and canceled checks for both of those today.
I know we’ll have to suck it up an pay the rent at some point. hopefully we can negotiate it down some.