Who is responsible for rent??

Question

Hi,

Recently I had to break my apartment lease due to personal reasons. I had given 30-day notice that was acknowledged by landlord and luckily they were able to re-rent the unit RIGHT AWAY. However, recently I received a bill for ADDITIONAL half month's rent after I moved out. I am also being charged for cleaning and repainting of unit that took place after I moved out and before the new tenant moved in. My understanding is, I can't be charged for rent anymore as the unit was rented out already. Am I correct? Please advise.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

@Naga Raj the Landlord can't legally charge two different tenants rent for the same time period. Call your Landlord and ask them what the charge is for. Maybe they found a new tenant but that tenant didn't start renting for 15 days. Maybe your Landlord told you there was a penalty of half a month's rent for breaking the lease early. You need to talk to them to find out what the charges are for.

Account Closed · Answer

My lease says I have to give a 60-day notice to move out ("buy back my lease") or non-renew (a non-renewal automatically turns into MTM at $200 more per month).  The lease also says my landlord has to give me a 60-day notice if it wants me to move out after the lease ends and doesn't want me there on a MTM.

• HOT MARKET (corner-case scenario #1):  I give a 60-day notice, pay all the money I own (2 months rent), turn in the keys, and move out the same day.  The next day, the landlord finds another tenant who moves in and starts paying rent.  The landlord collects double the rent for two months.
• COLD MARKET (corner-case scenario #2):  Same as #1, except the landlord takes many months to find a replacement tenant.  The landlord doesn't collect rent for those many months except for the two months it collected rent from me.

This is a risk management issue on everyone's part.  I'll be moving out sometime in the next couple of years after I figure out where I want buy a home here and I put the two months of move-out expense in a savings account already.  This money is the cost of doing business in a capitalist economy.  I have no idea what the landlord is doing with regards to potential future vacancies, but someone on its staff gets paid to figure it out.

Justin Kane · Answer

yea youll have to get details on your lease agreement.. what did you agree to what are the terms.. but they can charge you towards your deposit for repairs and make ready. but if you have a letter from them releasing you then they cant charge your for early term or re leasing

Jennifer T. · Answer

Sounds like this was a lease with a set term and you moved out early.  As opposed to a month-to-month lease.  As such, if you moved out before the set-term lease expired, you are responsible for paying the rent until a new tenant moves in.  Even with a 30-Day notice.  With that said, the landlord is responsible for mitigating their damages and getting a qualified tenant in, as soon as possible.  It appears they did just that.  You should actually be counting your blessings they were able to move a tenant in as quickly as 15 days after your move-out, especially considering they needed to repaint and clean the unit.

I can't say if it was valid they needed to repaint and clean the unit.  Do you have pictures from the day you moved out that the walls were fine and the place was clean?  Normally, only touch-up painting is needed after a tenant moves out and that would fall under wear and tear.  But I've also had tenants who did so much damage to the walls that they did need to be repaired and totally repainted.  And I'm not even necessarily talking big holes.  Excessive pin-prick holes will do it.  Walls with nail polish or any other substance that needs to be painted over.  Walls with so much dirt buildup they can't be fully cleaned anymore.

James Wise · Answer

More info is needed here. Without more info on the terms of your lease, exactly what the landlord charged you for, exactly when the new tenant moved in, & the exact terms that were worked out with you & the landlord when the lease was broken it's impossible to provide reliant commentary on the situation.

Also worth noting that most leases aren't set up to just allow you to break them without financial penalty so I imagine that may come into play in the convo.

Kevin Sobilo · Answer

@Naga Raj, I think @Nathan G. is on point.

Additionally, there could be an early termination fee on your lease. On my leases I charge an early termination fee of a little more than 1 months rent, plus they pay regular rent until the unit is occupied by a new tenant or until the original lease ends. In addition the original tenant would be responsible for any damages of course.

Who is responsible for rent??

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