I want to move & never technically signed the new lease. Can I face any problems with property management?
Question:
According to the lease papers, there's a lot of money we have to pay if we break our lease, but since we never signed the new papers we technically aren't bound, right?
We really want to move but I'm afraid to challenge the property management even though there's no signed lease. Is there any kind of problems I might run into? I want to make sure I have all the facts before I tell them we want to move. I also want to be sure we'd still be able to get our deposit.
Any suggestions? Should I be able to move easily since we technically never signed the lease (even though we've been living in the house an additional 3 months now)?
Answer:
Normally, when your lease isn't officially renewed, you are often automatically put on a month to month lease. It seems you've gotten really lucky, as month-to-month rent is usually a lot more expensive than a long term lease. If they haven't said anything about owing them extra money, then it must be the same.
Anyways, if you look at your original lease, there will probably be something written that indicates the whole month-to-month issue. While it can vary between management companies, the standard rule is that you just need to give them 30 days notice when on a month-to-month lease. As long as you do that, you probably shouldn't owe them any money except for a partial months rent.
I'm not a lawyer or anything, this is just my experience. We're going through the same thing right now.
Check the terms of the original lease. Does it say anything about automatically extending the lease if another one is not signed? Self-renewing leases aren't generally looked favorably upon by the courts.
I don't know what state you're in, and I don't know all the details, but I would guess that if you moved out, the property management company would have a difficult time obtaining a judgment against you for breaking a lease that was never executed in the first place.
I would certainly consult an attorney prior to moving.
You can move and not get repercussions since there's no signature. Your deposit problem may have to go to court...It's up to the landlord. I once found another renter to take my place and that seemed to satisfy my landlord enough to give me a partial deposit back.
I would give them 30 days notice & then move. I agree with you that if you didn't sign a lease, then you're not breaking one.
I would however look over the old lease & see if there's any fine-print that says, "if you stay here x amount of months it is considered a contractual agreeement, blah, blah, blah. Always check the fine print.
As a general rule, if a lease term expires and you remain in the premises, you have entered into a month-to-month lease. All of the terms of your old lease continue in full force and effect except that the lease term may end upon proper notice. The term usually ends at the end of the next month after giving notice - the last day of April if notice is given today.
But many of the fees to break the lease may still stay in effect. You'll have to read your lease - a lease by which you are still bound - in order to find out exactly what happens.
More Questions & Answers...