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Need help with a 30 day notice situation

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Need help with a 30 day notice situation

Postby travelhc » Mon Jun 15, 2009 7:11 pm

Hello,

Here is our situation. We were renting a place on a month to month basis that was up for sale. We knew we could be asked to move if the place sold. We paid May rent and then were told on May 20 that the place sold and we had 30 days. My roommate asked if we moved out earlier would we get rent back and we were told it would be pro-rated.

We actually found another place and cleared out by May 31. So we would not be in the place at all in the month of June. When my roommate called about the deposit, she was told that we were supposed to ALSO give a 30 day notice back to them so they were going to keep the deposit.

Also I guess the house hasnt cleared escrow yet so they gave us a sob story on how the owner wasn't able to pay the mortgage because we moved out. (not sure how that became my problem).

I guess I just want to know...should we be able to get the deposit back and can they say we owe ANY rent for the month of June. Remember, THEY gave US the 30 day notice.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
travelhc
 
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Postby JohnMI » Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:09 pm

I think the problem is that this is coming to come down to their word against yours. If you had something in writing that said that they were going to pro-rate the rent to the day you moved out if you indeed moved out early, then you'd be all set. Without that, if they deny that they said it and a judge believes them, then it is going to come down to what the rental agreement says -- and it likely specifies something about the 30-day notice being required.

Since they have the deposit, they are likely to keep it -- so you'd have to be the one doing the suing to get it back.

If it were me, I would first make very sure that the landlord follows your state's laws for documentation when they keep the security deposit. Have they given that to you yet? Be sure that they follow the law on the timeframe for that. If they don't, then you'll be much better off in court.

If they DO get it to you properly, then follow your state's laws for stating that you disagree with the security deposit. This varies quite a bit by state, so you'll have to look up yours to see how to do it properly. When you state that you disagree, explain that you had a verbal agreement that if you moved out early, you would get pro-rated rent back to that day (if that is what they said to you). Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll decide not to fight it out in court.

- John...
[I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice. Your mileage may vary. Look both ways before crossing.]
JohnMI
 
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