Can a landlord legally ask for last month’s rent in addition to deposit and first month’s rent?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can a landlord legally ask for last month’s rent in addition to deposit and first month’s rent?
We have lived in this rental for a little over a month and the rental agreement states that we have to pay last month’s rent. I cannot find definitive information concerning whether this is binding or not in this state. I was expecting my student loan two days ago, and have not received it, and the last month’s rent was due yesterday. She served me with a Notice to Pay or Quit today.
Asked on October 7, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Kansas
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you have a written lease agreement for the rental that you have, you need to carefully read it in that its terms and conditions control the obligations owed to you by the landlord and vice versa in the absnence of conflicting state law.
If your written lease is silent as to certain monies that your landlord is currently asking you for, then you are under no contractual obligation to pay the additional amount. If the written lease agreement that you signed calls for payment of the last month's rent to your landlord and you have not paid it, you are contractually obligated to do so.
Since you have been served with a notice to pay or quit with respect to the last month's rent, either you pay what you agreed to do or you most likely will be facing an unlawful detainer action to evict you from the premises.
Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.