even though my lease expired on a certain day, am i still required to submit a 30 day notice of vacating home?

Question

my landlord is keeping all of our security deposit bc we didn't provide a written notice we were vacating. our lease doesn't state we have to provide a notice unless we remained in occupancy past the lease date. they had our keys almost a week before the lease was even expired so i do not see how there is any way that they can keep this money. they are also stating we now owe them 700 extra which we were NEVER billed for and we have been out of the house since the end of may. what can i do about this besides hiring an attorney. we wouldn't get any money back after we paid a lawyer. please help me. oh... and the lease was for a house in memphis, tn. thanks!

our lease states: that on expiration of lease, if tenants remain in the occupancy of residence, a month to month tenacy will be set with agreements made by both the landlord and tenant. this month to month tenacy is terminated upon receipt of a 30 day written notice.
Doesn't this mean that if we were still living in the house after the lease expired (which they knew we weren't, they had all of our keys and we had told them they could go ahead and do the final inspection) then if we had some sort of agreement with them we could go on a month to month lease? arrangements were never made with the realty company bc we didn't need to stay in the house and they knew that. we had talked to them 2 or 3 weeks prior to get a cleaning check list of what we had to do. shouldn't they have said something while we were in their office that day? i know they are just trying to take advantage of us bc we are college students but i just want to make sure i have my facts straight.

Answer 1

Some states have "slum lord" laws, which when you file a case against them, they can no longer rent out any more properties. This usually gets them to settle easily. Also, you don't need an attorney. This is probably a small claims issue. File in your local court, and get the ball rolling. The additional $700 should be easy to refute, the security deposit will be more difficult, because your lease may indicate you needed to give notice that you were not renewing your lease. Read your contract carefully, and check out the State of Tennesse website.

Answer 2

Hi Joey's Wife,

As everyone here has stated already the lease holds the key.

However, the month-to-month is called a holdover clause, and if it stipulates that you are required to give a 30 notice AFTER the holdover clause kicks in, and does not mention what needs to be done before, and you gave them the keys prior to the lease expiring, I would definitely make the case of "I didn't know" and play that part to the hilt.

Typically, a landlord is held to a higher standard because everyone knows that it's not truly a level playing field, and Lessors play this game all the time.

The bottom line is the lessor will typically get spanked in small claims court instead of the lessee.

Just make sure that you have all the documentation and witnesses together. The more organized you are the better.

But I would strongly suggest paying a good attorney the $50 or $100 consultation fee to get their input. Trust me, it would be worth it.

Good Luck,
~Trey

Answer 3

Check TN law regarding leases...........I'm west coast and can't say for certain, but out here a lease has to be renegotiated unless the original lease stipulates that it becomes a month-to-month upon expiration of the lease, in which case you DO need to give 30 days. Does Tennessee have a housing authority or regulator? More often than not, hopefully you can wait for the money, you can take THEM to small claims court or the equilalent in TN and get it back. Sounds like you are in for a battle regardless SORRY :p

Answer 4

Check with a local realtor, preferably an office that handles a lot of leasing/rentals. Talk to them about renting a home/apt (even if you arent going to) & then lead into that question. Some can be rude, but just keep calling until you reach a nice one who will talk to you about it. They are usually up on the laws and/or may be able to ask an attorney that they deal with on a day to day basis. In NC, if there is no lease or an expired lease, it becomes an automatic 30 day lease. Good luck!

Answer 5

Most leases do require notice be given when you are moving out, even at the end of the lease.

If your lease is silent on this, you might try small claims court.

As to the damage claim, most states require the landlord to provide an itemized list of charges, usually within 30 days of move out. Some states stipulate "reasonable time" but courts typically hold this to be 30 days. Failure to render the statement as required typically bars the landlord from making any deductions at all. Again, small claims court would be the way to go.

Answer 6

Did you pay the last month's rent? You should not have sent keys in the mail, they could be lost. You should turn keys in when you do a walk-through after you have cleaned the place. Look at your lease and make sure it did not expire before you left. You cannot give notice on an apartment if you have people still living there. Just because you leave does not absolve you of the liability for the rent. If your roommates did not pay the rent, you are all responsible. You should take your roommates to court and sue for their share of rent for 2 months because the landlord will be suing all three of you.

Answer 7

1st if it was a fixed term lease from x date to y date and you moved out by y date then no notice is required, only notice maybe would be to stay under month to month but lease agreement was for fixed period and you left at the end of the period

The claiming of other damage, what type of damage are they claiming you did, did you leave a forwarding address so they can send you a list of the damages they claim you did? all states require the landlord to send usually within 30 days check your local law a list of the damages, the cost to take from the security deposit.

so did you leave a forwarding address, did you leave the place a mess? what type of damages

in the end as long as you did not destroy the place sue for your monies back it is simple, you and who ever else was on the lease go go down to the local county clerk get a form for small claims simple form fill it out for the amount of monies the landlord withheld you can ask for treble damage and get a court date

Answer 8

Depending on your lease agreement,if your original lease has expired, you have been living on a month to month lease. In that case, you need to give thirty days notice,unless stated in the original contract, he cannot keep any money, unless it is in an escrow account,to be established later,as money applied to lease agreement. You need to communicate with this person and explain your intentions. It may be too late. The law states: Upon default of lease, occupant may remain in residence as a month to month or week to week leasee, depending on the terms. If you failed to notify your leasor of your intent to move, then you are neglegent and he may have some motivation. As far as I know, your deposit is not qualified, unless there has been damage to the propery. Good Luck..

Answer 9

depends on your lease agreement. Typically 20 to 30 days written notice is required even if there is a lease expiration date. Refer to your lease agreement. Everything should be spelled out within.

Answer 10

You might have had to notify them so they could start advertising for a new tenant a month early, depends on your state law. you are stuck between a rock and a hard place because you need the advise of a real estate attorney and that cost $ also.