Q: I did not give my landlord proper notice when I left.
My former lease says that I am required to give 2 months notice when I leave. I only gave him a week and a half. He now wants me to be responsible for paying rent on August and September. At the same time he has in the lease that if I stay past the lease he wants me to pay for holdover rent. Instead of the usual monthly rent of 1500, it would be 2300. He basically wants me to pay 2300 for August and September. My security deposit is 3600 which is a lot of money. What should I do?
A:
The circumstances described in this email are disturbing to me. Your base rent is $1500.00 but you mentioned that you posted $3600 in security. Under New Jersey law your security is limited to one and a half months rent or $2550 in your case. How did your landlord say that the month-to-month rent was $2300? I think your landlord as an abusive person.
The landlord by holding an illegal security deposit is subject to a series of penalties under New Jersey's rent security act. 7 percent interest on the money, attorney's fees and some other penalties. You need to push back and hard.
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