They let the office know they wouldn’t be renewing the lease in March. Lease ends June 30th.
Her roommate called the office today to make sure everything was in order to give them one month notice.
But apparently, in the lease it says they need to give 2 months notice. Now they’re being forced to pay July rent.
Since they let them know in March that they wouldn’t be renewing the lease, isn’t that the same as giving 60 days notice? I can see it not being the same on a technicality, but it’s still notice.
[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
GF rented an apartment with a 1 yr lease.
They let the office know they wouldn’t be renewing the lease in March. Lease ends June 30th.
Her roommate called the office today to make sure everything was in order to give them one month notice.
But apparently, in the lease it says they need to give 2 months notice. Now they’re being forced to pay July rent.
Since they let them know in March that they wouldn’t be renewing the lease, isn’t that the same as giving 60 days notice? I can see it not being the same on a technicality, but it’s still notice.
damn sheisters[/quote]
Does the lease require 2 months written notice? Do they deny that any notice was given in March?
one form says - they received this in march
“check the box yes or no, do you want to renew your lease, or pay month to month”- they turned this in, in march and stated they wanted to do neither
a separate form says, “we want to move out on ‘x’ date” which is 60 days before the lease ends - they received this form today when they went to the office
Make a fake letter head with a fake law firm office (look offical) and type up a letter stating that you will fight this in court since your client provided the proper documentation to terminate the lease.
Most landlords/appt managers blur the legal lines in hopes that tenants will just cave in and not fight it and pay up.
If you show (even tho not true) that you are gonna fight whatever bullshit claims they are throwing out there, most of the time it can be “worked out.”
(You may need to start a new thread titled “Legal help with fake Law Firm” tho, I don’t know if it is against the law or not to do this)
My mom’s a landlord, so i’m not just a 17 yr old blowing smoke out my ass.
Unfortunately, your gf’s landlord is well within their rights to do this. Notification of a lease cancellation has to be in writing, not vocal, and it depends on the terms of the lease how long you must inform them in advance.
if your gf didn’t pay the next month’s rent, legally the landlord could keep the deposit on the rental AND sue for the next months rent, as well as damages/repair costs on the property.
Sorry, but maybe your gf should’ve just read the lease earlier. She could ask for a copy of the lease, and if it says 30 days your gf could quickly turn in notice, but chances are they aren’t lying to you about the lease.
one form says - they received this in march
“check the box yes or no, do you want to renew your lease, or pay month to month”- they turned this in, in march and stated they wanted to do neither
a separate form says, “we want to move out on ‘x’ date” which is 60 days before the lease ends - they received this form today when they went to the office[/quote]
Not sure about all the facts, but this separate form - was your girlfriend supposed to go and get this herself before the 60 days?
My guess, based on what you have said, is that the landlord doesn’t send forms to you on the guess you want to move out - he probably expects his tenants to come get the form, and probably doesn’t recognize the answer on the first form as proper notice under the contract.
That is a guess - again, look at how the landlord wants to have notice of move-out provided to him in the lease. It may be more explicit than you think.
In my experience, if you didn’t actually hand them some kind of formal written notice that you won’t be renewing, they’ll try to say you didn’t give them proper notice.
My friend works in property management and said that a lot of times they’ll try to pull crap like this even if you’ve satisfied their requirements. They count on you not fighting it and not knowing any better.
My last apartment tried do to something similar with me, but I fought it. They found a way to keep most of my deposit though.
[quote]dk44 wrote:
I don’t know if it is against the law or not to do this)[/quote]
Pretty sure that is illegal, pretending to be someone who’s passed the bar exam and whatnot. Should probably just talk to a lawyer before trying to sue, because it would be an epic fail if they were legally correct, gf could get in a fair amount of trouble.
[quote]Blaze_108 wrote:
My mom’s a landlord, so i’m not just a 17 yr old blowing smoke out my ass.
Unfortunately, your gf’s landlord is well within their rights to do this. Notification of a lease cancellation has to be in writing, not vocal, and it depends on the terms of the lease how long you must inform them in advance.
if your gf didn’t pay the next month’s rent, legally the landlord could keep the deposit on the rental AND sue for the next months rent, as well as damages/repair costs on the property.
Sorry, but maybe your gf should’ve just read the lease earlier. She could ask for a copy of the lease, and if it says 30 days your gf could quickly turn in notice, but chances are they aren’t lying to you about the lease.[/quote]
thanks for the input.
She did turn in the one form (back in march, so more than 60 days) stating they did not want to renew or go month to month.
But the lease office is saying, that is not the form they need, they need the other form, stating, the move out date
[quote]Blaze_108 wrote:
dk44 wrote:
I don’t know if it is against the law or not to do this)
Pretty sure that is illegal, pretending to be someone who’s passed the bar exam and whatnot. Should probably just talk to a lawyer before trying to sue, because it would be an epic fail if they were legally correct, gf could get in a fair amount of trouble.[/quote]
I have just finished looking it up (Lord knows why?) and from what I see, technically it isn’t illegal to pretend to be a lawyer. I meant for JF, to try it, and if it didn’t work then to just pay up or put in the proper paperwork, I didn’t expect him to get his fake lawfirm to take the Apt. Manager to court.
Don’t fake that you’re a law firm. Anyone with any sense will see right through it. I’ve gotten letters from tenants claiming to request copies of documents be sent to their attorney’s office, and the address is really the grocery store where the tenant works. We check these things.
Check the lease. See what the specific requirements are. If it just says “60 days notice” or “60 days written notice,” you are on good footing. If it says “60 days written notice on the form available at landlord’s house,” your position is weaker.
Get a copy of the “we do not wish to renew” form and do a letter YOURSELF (have someone you think is smart review it) stating that the enclosed “we do not wish to renew” constitutes notice under section yadda yadda of the lease.
Don’t expect to get the security deposit back, if they’re playing like this.
In all likelihood, the security deposit = about one month’s rent month-to-month. You can either pay a month’s rent and not get the security deposit back, or you can not get the security deposit back and move out June 30.
[quote]pushmepullme wrote:
Don’t fake that you’re a law firm. Anyone with any sense will see right through it. I’ve gotten letters from tenants claiming to request copies of documents be sent to their attorney’s office, and the address is really the grocery store where the tenant works. We check these things.
Check the lease. See what the specific requirements are. If it just says “60 days notice” or “60 days written notice,” you are on good footing. If it says “60 days written notice on the form available at landlord’s house,” your position is weaker.
Get a copy of the “we do not wish to renew” form and do a letter YOURSELF (have someone you think is smart review it) stating that the enclosed “we do not wish to renew” constitutes notice under section yadda yadda of the lease.
Don’t expect to get the security deposit back, if they’re playing like this.
In all likelihood, the security deposit = about one month’s rent month-to-month. You can either pay a month’s rent and not get the security deposit back, or you can not get the security deposit back and move out June 30.[/quote]
Did you join this site just to put down my plan? Dammit, I thought I was on to something! (JK BTW)
It is illegal to pretend to be a lawyer and practice law for someone else. This is unauthorized practice of law. You can always represent yourself. Making up a firm name, esp. if you’re talking to someone who has worked in the area for a while, will be a red flag.
Don’t expect to get the security deposit back, if they’re playing like this.
In all likelihood, the security deposit = about one month’s rent month-to-month. You can either pay a month’s rent and not get the security deposit back, or you can not get the security deposit back and move out June 30.[/quote]
They will also want to go through a walk-through with your gf/room-mate. This will be to look for damages, etc. they can hold a deposit up to 30 days after you move out, for non-visible damages, etc. Only problem is, if you leave early w/o paying and they take the deposit, they can still sue for the rent for breaking the lease, it’s within their legal right. best bet is to pay the rent, do a walkthrough and hope for at least part of the deposit back. legally, they can and might take deposit and next month’s rent.
Don’t expect to get the security deposit back, if they’re playing like this.
In all likelihood, the security deposit = about one month’s rent month-to-month. You can either pay a month’s rent and not get the security deposit back, or you can not get the security deposit back and move out June 30.
They will also want to go through a walk-through with your gf/room-mate. This will be to look for damages, etc. they can hold a deposit up to 30 days after you move out, for non-visible damages, etc. Only problem is, if you leave early w/o paying and they take the deposit, they can still sue for the rent for breaking the lease, it’s within their legal right. best bet is to pay the rent, do a walkthrough and hope for at least part of the deposit back. legally, they can and might take deposit and next month’s rent.[/quote]
Landlord/tenant law is governed by the state, what may be legal in Illinois may or may not be legal in your state. Therefore, I suggest you treat the words of a 17 year old son of an Illinois landlord as smoke blowing out of an ass.
If your girlfriend indicated in writing in March that she will not be renewing her lease in July, then it sounds like she gave more than the 2 months required notice.
I suggest you check online for your state’s statutes governing landlord/tenant law. I also suggest you check the statutes governing rental deposits. A landlord’s failure to comply with all the requirements of the statute regarding deposits, in some states, can subject the landlord to treble damages. It may give your girlfriend additional leverage in which to negotiate her way out of paying July rent.
Sure legally they may be able to sue you. So? Just because someone sue’s you does not mean that they will win. If you really want to handle this on your own I recommend some of the stuff from Nolo press such as ‘Represent Yourself in Court’. It may help guide you and make you more comfortable with the legal system.
[quote]Loose Tool wrote:
Landlord/tenant law is governed by the state, what may be legal in Illinois may or may not be legal in your state.
[/quote]
You need to do at least two things.
Check the terms of the lease. See if the lease specifies which form or forms you must submit to qualify as notice.
Check the state law. The fact that a requirement is in a contract does not guarantee that the requirement is in compliance with the state law. Especially in these situations.