Can move-out notification be valid if sent by text message?
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Can move-out notification be valid if sent by text message?
My landlady permitted verbally me to give her a 2-week move-out notice if I wanted to move out of her brownstone building. I remember exactly the date and time she said that. She has always used text messaging to communicate with me. So when I decided to move out, I sent her a text message stating that it was my 2-week move-out notice and the date of moving. Now, she claimed that she never received that text message, even though she still kept sending me voice clips that she recorded and sent through text messaging. Do I have case of getting my full 1-month security deposit back?
Asked on July 31, 2012 under Real Estate Law, New York
Answers:
Mark Siegel / Law Office of Mark A. Siegel
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Generally, a lease agreement contains notice requirements re: the length of time the landlord must give a tenant & vice-versa, in connection with the performance of certain obligations under the lease, which may sometimes include early termination of the lease by either party.
If the required notice provided in the lease is say, 30 days, & you give 15 days, the landlord may claim that she did not have adequate time to find a new tenant, or show the apt to prospective tenants before you vacated.
Whether you are legally entitled to the return of all or part your security deposit because you gave 2 weeks notice, will depend upon the wording of the notice & security clauses in your lease. Only a court can determine whether sufficient notice was given by you in proper form, if it was received by your landlord & if the landlord is legally entitled to keep all or part of your security deposit.
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