In mid-May, my landlord sent me a renewal form for an additional 12 months. I knew I would not be renewing. I e-mailed my landlord and told him this. I also asked, in this e-mail, if I had the option of extending for 1x additional month into July. Here is that e-mail:
Would you consider a month-to-month arrangement for July? We're sorry to be leaving the apartment -- a few small issues aside, it's a great unit and a nice building [PERSONAL DETAILS].
We can commit to keeping the place in showable condition should you wish to show it while we're still occupying. We generally keep it in good condition as it is. As for rent, we'd be very happy with the new 2012-2013 rate of [RENT], particularly if it can be prorated to match our extended stay.
In any event, please let me know what our options are.
My landlord replied with:
Hi [NAME], it’s fine to extend the lease one month through the end of July. [PERSONAL DETAILS]
I then replied with:
If there's anything we can do to help fill the vacancy, let us know -- we appreciate the flexibility.
On June 20th, it became clear that I would not need the additional month, so I e-mailed my landlord to let him know that we would definitely be out by the end of June. I never received a response. This was 10 days before the original lease expired on June 30.
My landlord is now refusing to give me all of my security deposit back, because he claims that I need to make him good for time that he could have been marketing the apartment. He assumed I was staying the extra month. My POV is that I never, at any time, actually said I was going to stay an extra month. I asked if I had the option to do that, he confirmed I did, and then I appreciated his "flexibility." That was the entire conversation (as pasted in above).
Thoughts? Is there something in my e-mails to my landlord that legally bound me to accept an extension for a month? Or am I right in thinking that the landlord made an assumption that I was staying, and that this is a (pardon the cheesy expression) ass of u and me type situation?
For additional context/color, the landlord always seemed like a good guy, and I want to act equitably, it'll just help me act equitably to get some third opinions on where I actually stand.
Thanks for your help...