Q: NYC - landlord requires me to pay full month's rent even though I'm moving out on the 15th?
Hello,
I'm subletting a room on a month-to-month basis. I gave my landlord more than a month's (almost 2 months) notice that I'm moving out mid-July. Now she wants me to pay rent for the full month of July. Is that legal?
Thanks in advance.
A:
Dear Brooklyn Occupant:
You did not mention if you had a written agreement or the day of the month that you paid rent.
In NYC, notice to the landlord is not required before the tenant ends a month-to-month tenancy. All the tenant must do is move out before the next rent-due date.
An NYC tenant without a lease ends a month-to-month tenancy by the act of moving out.
Only courtesy, custom, and practice tell us that providing the landlord with at least thirty days advance notice is expected.
NYS does not recognize the notion of prorated rent. If your rent due date is July 1, then all rent comes due for July 2023 on July 1, even if you move out on July 15, 2023. The tenancy ends on the last day of the rental month, even when you move out in the middle of the month, but all the rent is due to the landlord on the first day of the month.
If your rent-due date is the 16th, then moving out on July 15 does not require you to pay rent for the month from July 16 to August 15.
By the way. In NYC, you are a Roommate, not a subtenant. A subtenant rents an entire apartment by a written sublease agreement with the tenant and with advance permission from the landlord [https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/226-B].
A renter of a room is a Roommate [https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/235-F] .
I answered your question on AVVO and did not notice that you lived in Brooklyn. All month-to-month tenants in NYS other than those in NYC cannot legally end their month-to-month tenancies without first providing the owner at least one-month advance notice. You, having given "...more than a month's..." notice, distracted me from Brooklyn as the location of your home.
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