Q: can my landlady keep my security deposit for unpaid rent?
my lease expires end of February 2022...basically what I intend is to just up and move out, mid-October (paying October's rent first). if I do that, can my landlady use my security deposit for unpaid rent? or, only to compensate for any physical damage to the dwelling?
A:
Based on your stated plan to break your written lease some four months early--in mid-October 2021--losing your security deposit should be the least of your worries. Why?
Because most written leases contain clauses that allow the landlord to sue you for all the rent owed through the end of the term.
Your best bet is to try to inform the landlord that you have to vacate in mid-October (for personal reasons?) and ask if there is any way they can work out a plan that solves all the problems.
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