Withhold from deposit for insufficient notice to vacate?

Question

Can't decide if this is a good business decision or a petty decision.

• Tenants provided 17 day notice to vacate
• Tenants were advised that they are in violation of the lease by not providing 30 days notice.  
• Tenants come back with sob story about how short notice is due to upcoming deployment (they are moving across town, wife is staying here during deployment, no military documentation provided)
• Move out date is accepted; if they want out that bad I don't want to force them to stay for fear of damages

By CA law we can withhold 13 days of rent from their deposit due to insufficient notice to vacate.  From the CA court website:

"If you pay rent once a month, you have to give your landlord 30 days’ notice in writing. If you do not, the landlord can charge you for the unpaid rent even after you move out. Unless a new tenant pays the rent, you will have to pay for those 30 days. If you pay rent every week, you have to give 7 days’ notice."

So my question is, would you withhold the 13 days rent?

Sarah D. · Answer

@Ericka Grant  Thank you for your perspective!  Glad to know it's not just me.

@Joe Splitrock We did TSP wash the walls before painting, but even after the wash and rinse they looked dingy; the smoke damage wasn't as visible but the walls looked really sad (sort of looked like the wall by my 4 year old's bed, which I have washed numerous times).  This is a fully remodeled unit so I didn't think we would get the best renters if we did not repaint.  Even if you don't consciously notice the dingy walls, I think people can subconsciously 'feel' that the place was kind of tired.  And yes, we now have a candle policy in our lease.

Dan H. · Answer

The longer a tenant has been a good tenant the more forgiveness they have earned.

However in no case would I give them no penalty for breaking lease early.  if they have been a good tenant for 5 plus years and leave the place with little effort to flip to the next tenant I would probably charge $50 early termination.  If they have been there less than 2 years or the place is not handed over in very good condition I would keep the 13 days of rent.

In both cases they need to know providing less than 30 days notice is not acceptable

Good luck

Sarah D. · Answer

@Anthony Russell We had a tenant who had to do just that.  He provided the documentation and a 30 day notice (as required by SCRA).

In this tenants case I really this they just wanted to get the move done before the husbands deployment and didn't/don't care about their 30 day notice obligation.

Sarah D. · Answer

Account Closed  They already left.  We have new renters moving in next week.  This is strictly a deposit return issue.  Sounds like you would just let it go.  Good to know!  Perhaps it is petty?

However, what good is a lease if people aren't held to the provisions?

Account Closed · Answer

I would be very careful with this.  They could simply stay there and not pay the rent.  Then when you try to evict them simply ask for a stay in the eviction case.  They will be granted a 90 day stay.

I would simply try to get the place rented.  Of course, here things rent in a matter of hours not weeks.

Sarah D. · Answer

@Jim Adrian  Thanks for your thoughts!  We've had two other tenants that had to move out of the area due to deployment and both gave the required 30 day notice and provided documentation.  These tenants are staying in the area but wanted to move to a bigger place...

Jim Adrian · Answer

@Sarah D.

I would hold the money until proper documentation is provided to you.  Its not unreasonable to ask for deployment papers.  Review the first link below, which requires the tenant to do their part as well and provide proper notice.  They are to provide 30 day notice and copy of the paperwork, per link.

http://www.militaryonesource.mil/web/mos/-/military-clause-terminate-your-lease-due-to-deployment-or-pcs?inheritRedirect=true&redirect=%2Fweb%2Fmos%2Fdeployment

http://rentlaw.com/military-clause/

Joe Splitrock · Answer

@Sarah D. you shouldn't need to repaint walls due to candle smoke. Usually if you just clean them with TSP, it will remove the smoke stains. Really you need to clean with TSP before painting smoke covered walls anyways, so the paint sticks. I have a "no candle" policy in my lease. I have had smoke damage and have had wax spilled on the carpet. Getting wax out of carpet is not easy. Candles are also a fire hazard.

As far as charging for the 13 days, I would charge them. Deployment does allow release from leases, but it doesn't allow them to give you 17 days notice. Even with a letter, it still requires 30 day notice.

https://www.military.com/benefits/military-legal-m...

Ian R. · Answer

@Sarah D. I'm retired military. In this case, it's very possible that the member who is deploying is moving the spouse across town into a living situation that will be easier for her to handle while he's gone.  I've seen lots of spouses move into small apartments or move in with friends/family while the service member was away overseas.  The member may also be anticipating that he'll be transferring to another assignment as soon as he returns from deployment and is trying to simplify things now so his spouse isn't stuck with packing up a house on her own.  So there may be a legit reason for the local move.  Without knowing all the details, I would suggest you request a copy of the deployment orders or a copy of a letter from the unit command confirming the deployment.  If you get a letter (and not the actual order), ensure that it's on official command letterhead and has contact info for the officer or SNCO/CPO that signed the letter.  Then contact that person to confirm the letter's authenticity.  It's sad to say but I have seen military members forge deployment letters in order to break a lease.  If everything checks out, I would refund their deposit (minus any damages you're authorized to recoup per state law) and move on with life.

Austin Chambers · Answer

It is very easy for them to get documentation of the deployment.  If they provide you with this documentation, then I would thank them for their service and separate.  However, I do not take kindly to people that lie to me, so if they are just saying that to get out of paying extra then I would for sure charge them.  Be careful though if you have other people moving in.  I'm not sure about your local laws, but in Nebraska, you cannot double charge for rent.  So if you have someone moving in before the 13 days are up, you can only charge them for the days the new people are not in it.

Withhold from deposit for insufficient notice to vacate?

Most Popular Reply