We bought a house, cant move in but 2 days after our lease ends.

[Craig Palmer]

So we bought a house. Our lease ends April 30th at our duplex while construction is wrapping up on our new home. Original move in date was April 28th. Due to some storms we are looking closer to May 2nd.

Despite months notice and continual communication on my part our landlord is not willing to work with us at all and expects the duplex to be empty on May 1st.

I just don't want to move 2 times into a storage unit in one week. Our landlord expects our builders to pay for storage. Anyway, whats the repercussions to staying an extra day or two? Were in Texas if Texas law makes any difference.

Thank you.

[Justin Tahilramani]

@Craig Palmer - Sounds like your landlord is being pretty difficult. I assume that you have a deposit with the LL. If you stay beyond your move out - he will likely try to recoup money via your deposit. 

Your new house must be almost done - why not move some items into the new place and sleep in a hotel for a few days? Sounds like a problem that can be overcome pretty easily through a meeting of minds.

[Craig Palmer]

We have a deposit. To note, when we moved in we never filled out a checklist with the previous landlord. Our current landlady bought our duplex while in the middle of our lease. So we should get the whole deposit back because they have no reference to condition at move in. 

But yeah, I would imagine they would just pull the pro-rated amount of our rent out of each day we remain after lease.

Our new home is very close to being done. However we can't get the keys until the move in date. It was originally scheduled for May 11th but they moved it back to April 28th for our landlord. Now that we may need a couple days she still won't budge. 

She is stubborn in her ways. She wouldn't even come out to fix an electrical issue that the energy company claimed was landlord responsibility and fire department came out due to potential hazard. After that she finally got her electrician out to take a look. Our power was out and she didn't believe us. That's a whole other story. She's not good at her job, I'll just leave it at that.

[Colleen F.]

The money will come out of your deposit for sure. If your landlord has work scheduled or tenants coming in May 1  he may have made a commitment to someone else based on what you told him. If the landlord loses that tenant because you don't leave as planned that is a damage to them.  The landlord is more motivated to meet the needs of a new tenant arriving, that is the important relationship for the landlord now.  What  does your landlord need? is it a need you can negotiate to meet both your needs? Do the painters have to be in? or do the tenants need to be in?   

Push your builder, he is not delivering as planned.  Got a garage on your new house, get your builder to give you access?  April 28 is a Friday, May 2 is a Tuesday,   your builder can't get it done one day sooner? Let you store things in a garage? The builder is getting good money from you, try to leverage that to meet your needs.  If the landlord has wiggle room ok but if he doesn't hotel and storage are one option. Yes, you can just take your chances and stay but what if your builder doesn't deliver the  2nd ?    Also read your lease what does it say. If my tenants overstay  there is a higher cost then pro-rated daily rent.

[Christopher Brainard]

@Craig Palmer

Your best bet is to fill the moving truck and leave it parked for a few days while you crash at a hotel. This is, after all, not your landlord's fault. If you do elect to stay and the landlord doesn't have a tenant moving in on the 1st, your damages would be minimal but it could get very complicated and expensive if a tenant is scheduled to move in on the 1st.

-Christopher

[Nicole A.]

I second what Colleen said. Instead of pushing your landlord, push your home builder. Explain to them the situation and that you absolutely need somewhere to store your items until the house is complete. If there is a garage, they should at least let you store in there. Or in the living room. Something. This can't be the first time the home builders have had this situation.

If they can't store it, tell them that they need to pay for the extra time you must otherwise stay in your current rental unit. Or, as much as you don't want to move twice, the builders can at least pay for movers and a storage unit.

I'm willing to bet that if you simply just stay over your time, your landlord will try to keep your *entire* security deposit. Even if you move out on time, she sounds like the type to find any way to keep your deposit.

[Deanna McCormick]

Your landlord isn't a jerk,, Get builder to permit you to move into garage so your stuff is there or basically just rent the moving  truck for 3 extra days..and park it in the driveway of the new house.

Get out.. and move on.

News release,, even if the house is done doesn't mean closing will go as scheduled,, closer's are know to delay and last house I sold was VA loan they held closing up 7 days.. I let buyer put stuff in garage with written agreement that if the house didn't close they would move the stuff back out in 3 days.

So it's not yours till the keys are in your hands. 

Good luck with the new home.

[Greg H.]

@Craig Palmer

You have contractually obligated yourself to vacate the property by April 30th.  I understand you have had past issues with the landlord, but expecting you to live up to the Notice to Vacate you gave is not being difficult.  After all, you could have give notice to move on May 15th to be safe but as most everyone, you probably did not want to pay the extra rent

Builders are always moving closing dates.  There is a reasonable chance it even gets moved from May 2nd as well.  I would put pressure on the builder to get it done by the first but have a back up plan for storing your stuff as well

As far as your deposit, just because a move in checklist does not exist does not mean you automatically receive 100% of your deposit back.  I assume a inspection was done upon her purchase or at a minimum a walk through.  Any damage after that time, if the property is not left clean, keys not returned or unpaid late fees could be valid deductions

[Craig Palmer]

I don't want to step on anyones toes not even our landlord. For the record, she is a jerk, which has nothing to do with her landlord abilities. She's just not a pleasant person. I don't wish her ill will or anything of that sort, just to be clear. 

When I say difficult I just mean that I would have hoped she would be willing to work with us for an extra couple days. Im not a landlord so Im not pervy to what kind of loss our landlord would have with losing a couple days. We would of course pay a prorated amount of our rent or whatever she wants to raise the rent too. As that is not the case we will have to find another solution to this. 

Reaching out to our builders we can't get garage access ahead of move in because they can't be liable for our belongings. 

As of right now and thanks to everyones input here, we are pushing for a May 1st move in date. We will have 1 or more moving trucks packed the weekend before and stay in a hotel or at a friends that night. 

[Craig Palmer]

Oh yeah... we have 5 pets. haha So a hotel might not work out. 

[Bart H.]

Originally posted by @Craig Palmer:

I don't want to step on anyones toes not even our landlord. For the record, she is a jerk, which has nothing to do with her landlord abilities. She's just not a pleasant person. I don't wish her ill will or anything of that sort, just to be clear. 

When I say difficult I just mean that I would have hoped she would be willing to work with us for an extra couple days. Im not a landlord so Im not pervy to what kind of loss our landlord would have with losing a couple days. We would of course pay a prorated amount of our rent or whatever she wants to raise the rent too. As that is not the case we will have to find another solution to this. 

Reaching out to our builders we can't get garage access ahead of move in because they can't be liable for our belongings. 

As of right now and thanks to everyones input here, we are pushing for a May 1st move in date. We will have 1 or more moving trucks packed the weekend before and stay in a hotel or at a friends that night. 

Your landlord likely has crews coming in.  Painting, repairs, etc.

Yeah, depending on whether they can get the unit turned you might be talking a few grand.  Maybe more if they are doing any type of rehab or upgrades.

Frankly, whether the property manager is rude or not is immaterial.  And you bet the landlord can assess damages.  And I can tell you, you have damage they could write up.  Good luck getting your money back.  And yes they can chase you for the difference.

Regardless, this issue is not the fault of the landlord, quit being petty, suck it up, rent a moving van, board your dogs and find a hotel.  Go after your builder, they are the ones not keeping their deal.  Your landlord shouldn't be the victim of poor planning on your part.

[Account Closed]

Your landLord is upholding their end of the contract. They shouldn't be expected to make your problem yours. On the other hand, the builder is working for you on YOUR property. Don't ask for the keys TELL the builder that you want them or you will bust the door open and it will be fixed at HIS expense. 

[Dawn Brenengen]

@Craig Palmer Having been a sales agent for many builders in the past, I can almost guarantee that the builder will NOT let you move anything into the garage early.  That's a huge liability for them.  If the house burns down with your stuff inside, who's insurance will cover that? I never met a builder who would agree to that.  I think your best bet is to rent the truck, leave your stuff in it for a few days, crash with a friend, or board your pets and stay in a hotel.  Your landlord may have already singed a lease to begin right after you move, so she may have people showing up, ready to move in on the 2nd (or whenever she has the place ready).