Q: Property manager not communicating but my lease is expiring soon—do I still have to pay?
I live in an Oregon apartment (Washington County) and pay my rent on time every month. My lease ends on March 31st but I haven’t heard anything from our property manager about renewing, expiring, being terminated—nothing.
I sent a dated note with my most recent rent check (which was cashed) and also emailed them the same day requesting to know more about my rental options. That was 9 days ago and I still haven’t heard from them. If my rental contract expires what do I do? Am I still obligated to pay them rent when I’m not contract bound?
(To be clear, the only reason I wouldn’t pay them is to finally get their attention. I honestly don’t know what the rules are in this situation and need some help.)
A: A fixed term lease that expires and has not been either renewed or timely terminated automatically rolls over into being a month to month rentals agreement. If you are within the Portland city limits, additional rules may apply and a new, fixed term lease might be required. Tenants always owe rent for every day they are in possession and lack of a renewed fixed term lease is certainly not justification to not pay rent. Doing so is likely to be a fast ticket to being evicted.
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