Is my landlord correct?

[SC Maintenance]

Well... The "Last Month's payment" was a verbal agreement, since that's the norm locally when renting an apartment. All I got is a banking statement to prove that Landlord cashed that check. It's not anywhere in any of the 4 Lease Agreement Contracts that we made since 2019. Each renewal was a brand new contract for a year. Security deposit is specifically outlined in the contract and was a separate payment.

So you paid last months rent but its not referenced anywhere in any of the 4 agreements? Sounds shady.

 

[SC Maintenance]

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/is-it-legal-to-ask-for-last-month-s-rent-in-north--2309353.html

 

[LDB]

I am not a lawyer. I did take both semesters of Professor Phillips' business law class fall '78 spring '79. I've also stayed at a Holiday Inn Express but not recently. Based on the information I've read, including the ETF agreement presented, you owe rent for every month you live in the house, minus the last month. You've already paid that on day one. In addition to X-1(rent) you also owe $450 ETF. Deposit is debatable as he can argue A, B and/or C issues you are responsible for. You can argue the opposite. I'm old. I'm ornery. I'd probably pay the rent every month until the last month and then give a check for $450. If the house is in better condition than when I moved in, and it would be, when he argued/complained I'd tell him he's been paid that month's rent plus earned 4 years interest on the money and combined with the deposit I'm sure he's improperly keeping we are more than square. But I'm old. And ornery. And say whatever I want. And I'm not an attorney. Good luck.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I rented in a lot of different places, including some nice places, chasing the corporate America dream and moving around / relocating etc. I think I would rather live in a cardboard box or under a bridge rather than having to rent again.

 

[Carmudgeon]

Landlord is pushing for the last sentence of that paragraph and ignoring my statements that I pre-paid last month's rent already. He's saying that he keeps that pre-payment due to early termination. Yet I don't see these terms in the Early Termination section, or anywhere else in the contract.

If your state is one of those that utilizes attorneys to handle closing and title, you should informally float that question to yours.

If not, a real estate attorney is still the authority to consult, should you wish to pursue the issue.

While legal material is covered as part of agents' traning, one of the first things they teach is to not give legal, or tax, advice to clients, and direct them to consult the approrpiate lawyer. It's a CYA tactic, but heeding that also avoids opening cans of worms.

Also keep in mind real estate forms and contracts are almost always boilerplate that people just use, and accept, without giving much, if any, though to.

It's an archaic, hidebound, and inefficient business that should have been blown up and revamped long ago, but customs persist.

 

[miden851]

Trying. But Landlord is making up rules as we go. Rules that were never initially outlined in the contract.

Well, the agreement is out there and signed by both parties so there is no adding nor subtracting from it; I would print the agreement details and find me a lawyer who deals with renting, leases and look for an advice in the office; pay him a $200 fee for a consultation, he may suggest something that the rest of us here did not look into

GL

 

[bullwinkle]

Do you have the Legal Aid Society in NC? They're here, in Cincinnati, and they could answer this question nearly instantly, and likely for free!

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

You have a contract. The contract provides for an early termination fee of $450, not $450 and the security deposit and/or last month's rent. Doesn't matter what he says. You have already paid the last month's rent once. Do not pay the last month's rent twice.
You may have to go to small claims court to get your security deposit back, but the way he is acting you probably would have to do that anyway.

 

[Vil_Riker]

The answer should be in your lease agreement unless it's left to the state administrative code to resolve.

 

[KrisZ]

You have a lease, not a month to month agreement, so the last month’s rent is the last month of the lease agreement. If you decide to terminate early, you cannot apply that to your last month, because that is not the same as the last month of the lease.

The way I see it, your landlord is correct. He keeps the last month and you cannot apply it to the month you are planning to terminate the lease because those aren’t the same. If this was month to month, then you could apply that.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

You have a lease, not a month to month agreement, so the last month’s rent is the last month of the lease agreement. If you decide to terminate early, you cannot apply that to your last month, because that is not the same as the last month of the lease.

The way I see it, your landlord is correct. He keeps the last month and you cannot apply it to the month you are planning to terminate the lease because those aren’t the same. If this was month to month, then you could apply that.

You're likely correct. And when I look at the situation from Landlord's perspective - it does make sense, somewhat. Problem to me is that this was never outlined anywhere by him, not in verbal or written form. I'd have no issues if it was on the Lease Agreement. But since it wasn't - it feels like I'm forced to play a game where rules are changed on the fly, and not in my favor.
On the other hand - the purchase of new-to-us house did drain the savings almost entirely, so maybe it's my inner cheapskate just hazing up the reality a bit, and making me see the situation in a worse light than it is...

 

[KrisZ]

You're likely correct. And when I look at the situation from Landlord's perspective - it does make sense, somewhat. Problem to me is that this was never outlined anywhere by him, not in verbal or written form. I'd have no issues if it was on the Lease Agreement. But since it wasn't - it feels like I'm forced to play a game where rules are changed on the fly, and not in my favor.
On the other hand - the purchase of new-to-us house did drain the savings almost entirely, so maybe it's my inner cheapskate that's hazing up the reality a bit and making me see the situation in a worse light than it is...

Since it’s not outlined and you have an option for an early termination, then perhaps you are entitled to apply the last months rent to your last month and not the last month on the lease.

But you probably need to prepare to go to small claims court for this.