Q: Lease allows early term with # days notice + fee, is the renter expected to pay remaining days of month after # day end
Lease says:
TENANT or LANDLORD shall have the right to cancel this agreement at any time during the original term or any renewal term thereof upon giving LANDLORD 60 days advance WRITTEN NOTICE and upon paying the LANDLORD all sums due.
I gave the 60 days notice, but it ends in the middle of the month. The landlord wants me to pay rent until the end of the month (i.e. ~70 days). I am fine with paying rent until day 60, even though I won't be there, but the landlord says that I have to pay the full months rent at the beginning of the month and will not refund the portion of rent for the days beyond 60 unless someone else moves in (because they can't charge double rent).
A:
All right! Let's start with the lease seems clear but maybe it isn't. Let's discuss. The lease says clearly either party can terminate by giving the other 60 days advance (whatever kind of notice could there be) notice. AND pays LANDLORD all sums due.
You would think based upon the clear words you could give notice say on December 15 and then leave on February 13 (I think that is 60 days) and you would owe no more rent.
But what the Landlord is probably thinking is that leases generally work off of 30 day notice being from the first of the term of rent. So let's say a notice is given on December 15. The notice is not effective until January 1 (assuming rent is due on the first) and then runs 60 days from then- two months. But this lease doesn't say this does it?
In my mind (not sure what that is worth) the Landlord should have been clearer. It seems the law should move along with the clear language written as opposed to some old common property law about a terms notice.
I wanted to set this out - in that I like your argument better - the Landlord isn't just being arbitrary either.
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