Q: What are the legal requirements for a landlord to provide vacancy documents after a lease has ended?
On December 30th, my roommate and I informed the office of Mission Hills apartments that we would be moving out of the apartment at the end of the lease, which was set for March 23rd. An email, without my knowledge, was sent to me on January 23rd of the document that was needed to be signed in order to legally vacate. A voice-mail was then left on January 28th about the email. No other forms of contact were attempted by the office for the document. As I was organizing my emails, I came across the email and immediately signed it, however they claim sufficient warning was made about the documents existence (without verbal or paper mail attempts, despite having made visits to the office on several occasions, and are now forcing a month to month rent even after the property has been vacated. They are requiring me to sign a document and pay over 1500 for month to month by tonight, or they'll increase the month to month to 2 months and pay 3000 dollars while I'm no longer living there. SA TX
A:
If the landlord is terminating the lease, they're required to give you notice in the time and form provided by the lease. If you're terminating the lease, you are required to give notice in the time and form required by the lease.
Without reviewing the lease and the notice provided and requested, it's impossible to know exactly what happened. However, based on the facts you stated, I'm guessing that you gave them verbal notice in January and the lease requires written notice. So they sent you a form to give the written notice, and they didn't get if back, which would explain why they would be claiming that they did not receive sufficient notice.
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.
