Portland, OR asked in Landlord - Tenant for Oregon

Q: If landlord didn’t provide renewal option within 60 days of lease enddate, is tenant still responsible to give 30days?

My lease ends on 12/7 and I expressed to the property manager I do not wish to renew despite lack of a written renewal option/notice as required by law. I also requested my rental amount due for the first of the month be updated to the correct pro rated amount. The property manager is still claiming I am required to give 30 days notice to vacate. Is this true and am I going to be responsible for a full month of rent on 12/1 even though the lease is set to end on the specified date of 12/7?

Related Topics:
1 Lawyer Answer
Gregory L Abbott
Gregory L Abbott
Answered
  • Landlord Tenant Lawyer
  • Portland, OR
  • Licensed in Oregon

A: It most likely depends upon what your lease says. Fixed term leases address termination of the fixed term in a multitude of potential ways, including if neither party renews, it just expires and the tenant is expected to be out. Or it may automatically renew or become a month to month UNLESS one of the parties notifies the other in advance. Or a few other possible ways the lease can go...so that is where you start. To the extent that you DO owe 30 days WRITTEN notice that you are terminating your lease, and you have not provided that (but if you do provide that, you can be held to it. So be sure before providing it and moving out on the 7th. If you have a right to move out without further notice but provide it anyway, you likely will obligate yourself to the additional days of rent when you would otherwise not need to), then you likely would owe all of December's rent. (But what is the landlord going to do if you don't pay? If you are out on the 7th, there is no point in trying to evict you since you are already gone. He can take any rent owed out of a security deposit, or try to sue you for the rent if you haven't paid; there is inadequate funds in your security deposit; and he can find you). If, however, you do not have to provide 30 days notice and can/should/are required by your lease to move out on the 7th, then all you owe for December is 7 days worth of pro-rated rent. More interesting is the possibility that your landlord owes you up to 3 months rent, plus relocation assistance (up to $4500, depending upon how many bedrooms you have), plus any actual damages (moving expenses?), plus your court costs, plus your attorney's fees. Bottom line is your lease needs to very carefully examined and you may wish to simply review everything with a local landlord-tenant attorney to identify both your lease termination situation and whether you have monetary claims against the landlord. Good luck.

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.