Put in 30 day notice but returned keys late: do I owe?

Question

CA Renter Question

I recently requested that my property manager allow me to amend my lease agreement so that I may move out March 1, 2019 instead of the previous agreement of March 15, 2019 due to my purchasing of a new home. The property manager agreed, which I thought was quite kind of them. I vacated the premises and removed my possessions from the unit by end of day Feb. 28. I spoke with one of the managers at the office over the phone, and I gave her authorization to conduct the walk-through without me. I specified that they could do the walk-through after Feb. 28. I thought all was good and clear until recently. I sent the aforementioned manager an email on March 1. In the email, I stated that I had removed everything but my car from the property (my car had to be towed, as it was non-op, although I don't  believe that should impede the inspection), and that the inspection can be completed anytime at their convenience. I also stated in the email that I would return the keys in person on my next day off, which was March 6. She emailed me back on March 4 stating that they needed the keys that day, and that my move out was March 1. She stated their system will automatically populate proration to be deducted from my security deposit. I returned they keys on March 6, as I work and live far from their office. I had not noticed her email to me on the 4th, or else I would have called her by now to discuss this further. I have read online that I technically have possession of the property until I return the keys. The way I look at it, they should have understood, based on my 30-day notice, and based on my consistent communication with them, that my move out date was Feb. 28. It seems to me they are just trying to get extra money from me, and it irritates me to no end. Do they have the right to charge me for the 6 days I had the keys? Or is my 30-day notice and vacation of the property sufficient?

Wesley W. · Answer

Since you still had property on the premises (car) and had not turned in your keys, you had not legally surrendered the rental unit and did not officially vacate. The PM cannot re-lease the unit until you have surrendered possession, which you did not do on March 1 as agreed. What if they had a new tenant that had signed a lease and was ready to move in at the beginning of the month? This would have created a problem for those new tenants as well as the PM, all because you did not vacate as you agreed.

You certainly owe the prorated rent, and as you stated in your post, they were very generous to let you out of the lease 2 weeks early and not charge you through the 15th.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

This is why communications need to be in writing and and signed off by both parties.

You state two different dates in your post here.... "amend my lease agreement so that I may move out March 1" and "consistent communication with them that my move out date was Feb 28."

I know it may seem unfair, but the reality is you did not return possession of the unit to them by February 28th or even by March 1 if you still had a vehicle parked on the premises, had not turned in your keys, and did not sign a "Return of Possession" form or something similar to demonstrate both parties were in agreement as to the actual last day of tenancy.

In any case, from what you shared here, the property manager reconfirmed by email that your move-out date was March 1, which is consistent with the amended lease.  So it's reasonable that you will be charged at least for that day, prorated, and this will be deducted from your security deposit.

Is there a reason you didn't leave the keys in the unit? Although we  prefer a tenant to do a walk-through with us at the end of tenancy so we  can both attest to the condition of the unit at that point in time, if a  tenant chooses not to, then we can ask the tenant to leave the keys on  the kitchen counter and lock the door behind them. That demonstrates the tenant is returning possession of the unit back to the owner as of that moment. When you failed to get the keys back to the property manager in a timely manner, it became a gray area.

Also, look at the calendar.... Feb 28 was a Thursday and March 1 was a Friday. You had full possession of the unit through March 1 (1159pm) as per what you agreed to in writing with the amendment to the lease. The property manager would naturally contact you on the next business day, which was Monday, March 4 to ask for your keys since you had not returned them to the office nor left them in the unit.

Did the property manager actually tell you they would charge you for 6 more days? Reread that email. From what you said, it sounds like they are still considering March 1 as your final day of tenancy, which is what you all agreed to in the first place. Hopefully all your possessions are out of the unit and you've moved your  vehicle by now!

Take a deep breath and call the property manager tomorrow (Monday) when the office is open and clarify what they intend to do. Check your anger too. No need to get riled up.  Talk it out in a congenial manner. My guess is that you will be paying for tenancy through March 1 (or longer  if the car was still parked there), which is reasonable, so accept that. As you realize, they've already done you a great favor by not holding you accountable through March 15th!

Bill B. · Answer

So in the end they saved you 9 days of pro-rated rent that they didn’t have to? (They could have made you pay rent until the 15th instead of the 6th?) maybe just send them a thank you card with a gift certificate to a local restaurant and pay rent through the 6th?

Aaron Hollandsworth · Answer

They didn’t even mention the car as an issue. Also, I asked them if I should leave the keys on the property, but they said they didn’t recommend that due to liability.

Put in 30 day notice but returned keys late: do I owe?

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