Q: Is my automatic lease renewal valid if I have no automatic renewal clause on my lease and no renewal notice was given?
My landlord tells me I will lose my security deposit for breaking my lease. My initial lease term was 12 months and he says my lease automatically renewed, however there is nothing in my lease stating that it will automatically renew, in fact it gives no direction for what happens when my lease term has ended. I initially gave my landlord a 23 day notice and they replied 10 days later telling me I would lose my deposit for giving less than a 30 day notice so I said well I’ll stay so my notice would than be 30 days. Now they are saying if I stay until my original date I will need to pay my full months rent and lose my deposit ($1650) if I leave afterwards to reach my 30 days than I’ll have to pay two months rent and still lose my deposit ($2475). My original lease end date I’m guessing is around Dec of this year. I never signed a new lease nor was I given a 30 day lease renewal notice with new terms and pricing. Any advice would help. Thank you so much!
A: Without seeing your lease and the exact language of the lease I cannot offer specifics. However, generally once your lease term expires, unless there is a specific clause to the contrary, your tenancy becomes month to month. At that point, either you or your landlord can end your tenancy by giving a thirty day notice.
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