Landlord kept entire deposit and demanded additional $370 in letter sent 40+ days after termination and receipt of new address
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Landlord kept entire deposit and demanded additional $370 in letter sent 40+ days after termination and receipt of new address
Lease expired 7/31/05. Lease included a holdover clause: “Should Lessee remain in possession of the demised premises with the consent of Lessor after … expiration of this lease, a new month-by-month tenancy shall be created … which [can be] terminated on 60 days written notice served by either Lessor or Lessee.” After the landlord told me they were going to sell the house, I made an offer, which was countered by an unreasonable offer. I gave notice, including a forwarding address, on 2/27/09 that I had bought a different house and would terminate tenancy on 3/31/09. On 5/18/09, I received
Asked on June 24, 2009 under Real Estate Law, Iowa
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
You're going to have to take the lease to an attorney in your area, and discuss the rest of the facts of the case, for advice you can rely on. I'm not an Iowa lawyer, and this clause is oddly worded. One place you can find a qualified attorney, who can tell you how the courts in your state would interpret this, is our website, http://attorneypages.com
In most states, the landlord would be out of luck, and also liable for keeping unearned security deposit if the facts justified it. A "month-by-month" tenancy ordinarily means that only one month's notice is required. The 60-day requirement is contradictory to that, in some sense, and if it can fairly be said that the lease is not clear and definite, the tenant gets the benefit of the doubt most of the time.
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