I lived in a rent stabilized studio apt for 7 yrs and was a very good tenant (i.e. never late with rent, no noise complaints). My lease ended on 5/31/12. I felt that I had a good relationship with the Management. I notified them months ahead of time that I would not be renewing the lease and told them when I actually vacated the apt in person and by email.
Return of Keys
They inquired twice about when I would return the keys. Once on ~5/30/12 and once on 6/4/12. I said that I would deliver my keys by end of business on 6/5/12. Instead I mailed the keys to the management on 6/5 because I could not leave my work early enough. I got a call the next morning from management saying I would be charged every day pro-rated rent until they received my keys. I returned keys the next morning. I know they have additional keys to my apt, so there was no real harm.
Question: Can the management charge me for the rent until I return the keys if I never had any real notice of that penalty? They claim that this penalty was in my lease but I reviewed it and did not see it. If they had ever told me I would have promptly delivered the keys!