If I gave 30 days notice instead of 60 days due circumstances beyond my control, can the landlord make me pay?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If I gave 30 days notice instead of 60 days due circumstances beyond my control, can the landlord make me pay?
I am getting married 09/18 so I wanted to add my fiance to the lease before I signed for the lease renewal. My lease expires at the end of September. 08/31 I submitted an application for my fiance but they denied him the next day because he had some felony charge from 9 years ago. They won’t let him to live there. So I had to give a 30-day notice to the apartment complex on 09/03 saying I will move out by 10/03. My lease agreement says that I have to give 60-days notice but this is an unusual circumstance. Now they ask me to pay a pro-rated rent from 10/03 – 11/03. What happens if I don’t pay that?
Asked on September 7, 2010 under Real Estate Law, New Mexico
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Since your lease requires a 60 day notice of termination of your tenancy, you would remain liable for the balance of the rent during that period for failure to give requisite notice. Your landlord cannot let the premises remain vacant during that additional period without making reasonable efforts to attempt to rent the premises. Your landlord would be required to mitigate (minimize) damages by attempting to rent the premises during the period in question. If the place is rented during that 30 day period, your obligation to pay rent for that time would cease. However, if the landlord rented the place for less than you were paying, you would still be liable for the difference in rent during the 30 day period in question. If the landlord rents the place for the rate you were paying before the entire 30 day period has elapsed, you would only be liable for a pro-rated amount. In other words, if for example, the place is rented on day 16 of that 30 day period, your rent obligation would only be for the first 15 days. If you don't pay what is owed, the landlord could sue you for the amount owed. If there was a judgment against you which you didn't pay, the landlord could enforce the judgment by a wage garnishment.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.