Q: Can a landlord restrict what day a tenant can give notice?
My daughter is on a month to month rental agreement. She rents a room out of a shared house. She wanted to give her 30 day notice today (Dec 4th), but the lead leaseholder of the home said she had to give notice by the 1st. Rental agreement does also state notice is to be given by or before 1st. My daughter has paid for December rent. Can the landlord refuse her 30 day notice now and only accept it on January 1st? Leaving her to pay a full month (January) of rent to a home she won't be living in? Her new place will be available for her to move into before the end of December. She's happy to pay for the extra days it took for her notice (4), but leaseholder won't accept that. Her leaseholder tells her whether she's living there or not, she will still have to pay the entire rent for January since she past the "deadline" of giving notice. (By 4 days). Is this true or a month to month? Is she obligated since it states the 1st being the deadline on the agreement?
A: Absolutely not - a tenant can give written notice any day they wish and rent must be pro-rated on a daily basis when the tenancy terminates, regardless of what a lease says. Tell daughter to date, sign, and serve her notice, keeping a copy and noting the date/time she hands it to the landlord. She may want to follow it up with mailing a copy of the notice to the landlord as well. If so, be sure to mail it regular first class mail, NOT certified. if she has problems, she should consider reviewing everything with a landlord-tenant attorney. This is not even a close call in my opinion. Good luck.
1 user found this answer helpful
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
