Q: Can a tenant leave before 30 days after the tenant has given a verbal 30-day notice to their landlord? (Month-to-Month)
We have been at a residency for 7 years and have to leave on an emergency basis for our extened family. We warned landlord over a month before that we may be moving soon since he was a friend of ours. We verbally notified him on the 14th of Sept. and he then in returned gave us a written notification of an extended 30 day notice to October 31st to ALSO pay him for October as well as surety that we will clean the home for him to give our deposit of back. As a month-to-month basis, we already paid him for September. Can we leave before October 1st?
A: A verbal notification does not conform to the notice requirements of the Virginia Code. The 30 day notice to terminate the month-to-month tenancy that is given to the landlord must be in writing.
A:
From your facts the landlord acknowledged your verbal notice but said it extends to the end of October (the next full rental period after you gave notice). The landlord is correct on the termination date of the lease.
You can leave whenever you want - simply you owe rent until the end of October OR until another tenant moves in, whichever comes first.
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