Notice by landlord of non renewal at end of lease agreementagreement

[Uncas]

Please Help Us ASAP!

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia
Our landlord gave us a 5 day acknowledgement notice, and 30 days to vacate the premises on our year to year lease agreement, or agree to a $300.00 increase in rent. (This is a single notice, containing the 5-30 day(s))
Is this legal under Virginia Law?
Please take into consideration this is not
(1) any non compliance or failure to pay our rent, on our part.
(2) In our original, existing, signed lease (we both have originals, they don't match like a single signed, dated, then copied lease) the 30 day notice reads thus "A thirty day written notice to cancel is required prior to termination otherwise the security deposit will be forfeited." Capital 'A' at the beginning, and a period at the end. Our landlord claims that per our lease agreement,(2 above) she has the, and is, exercising her right, to the 30 day (sign a new increased rent lease, or get out) notice. Land lord also states that we only have 5 days to decide.
Is any of this legal in Virginia?
We have only been able to find a 90 day written notice of non renewal, for a year to year agreement, from landlord to tenant.
We have also, through public records, discovered, that she owns as many as 14 rental units, if so, VRLTA applies to LL
I also checked and found out that LL is required, within 5 days after occupancy, to submit a written report, to us (tenants), for our safe keeping, itemizing damages to the dwelling unit existing at the time of occupancy, which record shall be deemed correct unless tenant objects...(Code of Virginia- Article 2. LL obligations. 55-248.11:1.
Theirs more to the section, please forgive the paraphrasing in the above section, my typing is slow, and we've been typing for months now. Also we live in a single family residence.
The point I'm trying to make is that there was a "showing" of the property only, several days before our approval to lease said property.
NO inspection, of any kind, having anything to do with existing damages. Yes I took pictures of what I considered to be 'existing damages'.
Our existing lease states: 'Move in/Move out: The landlord will conduct an inspection with the lessee at time of move in and again at time of move out. Any and all existing conditions not validated by the lessee during aforementioned inspection shall be legally waived without recourse. If all is satisfactory, the security deposit will be refunded in full.
Several things,(I have pictures) were mentioned, yet not repaired, disclosed, or even acknowledged by LL. It's very difficult to even find a place with fenced in land, with a barn, let alone to move animals, vehicles, and 2 years of accumulated personal property, on such short notice.
All we wanted, which she was looking for, were long term tenants, who would take care of her property like it was their own, which we have. We wanted a home, it's become a nightmare.
Please help, Thank You for your time and advice.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia
Our landlord gave us a 5 day acknowledgement notice, and 30 days to vacate the premises on our year to year lease agreement, or agree to a $300.00 increase in rent. (This is a single notice, containing the 5-30 day(s))
Is this legal under Virginia Law?
Please take into consideration this is not
(1) any non compliance or failure to pay our rent, on our part.
(2) In our original, existing, signed lease (we both have originals, they don't match like a single signed, dated, then copied lease) the 30 day notice reads thus "A thirty day written notice to cancel is required prior to termination otherwise the security deposit will be forfeited." Capital 'A' at the beginning, and a period at the end. Our landlord claims that per our lease agreement,(2 above) she has the, and is, exercising her right, to the 30 day (sign a new increased rent lease, or get out) notice. Land lord also states that we only have 5 days to decide.
Is any of this legal in Virginia?
We have only been able to find a 90 day written notice of non renewal, for a year to year agreement, from landlord to tenant.
We have also, through public records, discovered, that she owns as many as 14 rental units, if so, VRLTA applies to LL
Please help, Thank You for your time and advice.

Unless a longer amount of time is required by your lease, then a 30-day notice is sufficient prior to the end of the lease term to provide for a change in lease terms and/or a notice to terminate the lease at the expiration of the current lease term. The additional 5 days provided should be more than enough time to decide whether or not to accept the renewal offer or decide to end the lease on the scheduled expiration date.

A LL doesn't have to have a particular reason for non-renewal of a lease, nor do they have to provide you with one. It could be that you have been paying less than market rent, or they are re-financing and their payments have gone up, or their own cost of maintaining the property has increased, or some other unrelated reason.

In addition, keep in mind that the LL cannot automatically keep your entire security deposit for failure to give proper notice. They CAN withhold only those funds which cover rent for the balance of the notice period beyond what you have given. The law also provides that the LL must provide you with an accounting of any deductions to your security deposit along with a refund of any balance due to you no later than 45 days after you have vacated the rental property.

 

[Uncas]

Thanks, sandyclaus

While I was waiting for a response, I came across something very interesting, according to the Code of Virginia, Chapter 13, Title 55-222.
Notice to terminate a tenancy; on whom served; when necessary.
A tenancy from year to year may be terminated by either party giving three months' notice, in writing, prior to the end of any year of the tenancy, of his intention to terminate the same.
If you know about any of this title, please let me know

 

[sandyclaus]

While I was waiting for a response, I came across something very interesting, according to the Code of Virginia, Chapter 13, Title 55-222.
Notice to terminate a tenancy; on whom served; when necessary.
A tenancy from year to year may be terminated by either party giving three months' notice, in writing, prior to the end of any year of the tenancy, of his intention to terminate the same.
If you know about any of this title, please let me know

From what I can find, your lease could be governed either by the Code of Virginia OR VRLTA, depending on the type of structure and the number of units that the owner has that they rent out.

If your lease specifically is governed by VRLTA, then the 30 days' notice requirement applies (under Va. Code Ann 55-223).

If it is not, then the 90 days' notice requirement applies per the statute you provided.

Here is the text of the VRLTA as it relates to exemptions from it's coverage:

2010 Code of Virginia
Title 55 - PROPERTY AND CONVEYANCES.
Chapter 13.2 - Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (55-248.2 thru 55-248.40)
55-248.5 - Exemptions; exception to exemption.
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§ 55-248.5. Exemptions; exception to exemption.
A. Except as specifically made applicable by § 55-248.21:1, the following conditions are not governed by this chapter:
1. Residence at a public or private institution, if incidental to detention or the provision of medical, geriatric, educational, counseling, religious or similar services;
2. Occupancy under a contract of sale of a dwelling unit or the property of which it is a part, if the occupant is the purchaser or a person who succeeds to his interest;
3. Occupancy by a member of a fraternal or social organization in the portion of a structure operated for the benefit of the organization;
4. Occupancy in a hotel, motel, vacation cottage, boardinghouse or similar lodging held out for transients, unless let continuously to one occupant for more than thirty days, including occupancy in a lodging subject to taxation as provided in § 58.1-3819;
5. Occupancy by an employee of a landlord whose right to occupancy is conditioned upon employment in and about the premises or an ex-employee whose occupancy continues less than sixty days;
6. Occupancy by an owner of a condominium unit or a holder of a proprietary lease in a cooperative;
7. Occupancy under a rental agreement covering premises used by the occupant primarily in connection with business, commercial or agricultural purposes;
8. Occupancy in a public housing unit or other housing unit subject to regulation by the Department of Housing and Urban Development where such regulation is inconsistent with this chapter;
9. Occupancy by a tenant who pays no rent; and
10. Occupancy in single-family residences where the owner(s) are natural persons or their estates who own in their own name no more than ten single-family residences subject to a rental agreement; or in the case of condominium units or single-family residences located in any city or in any county having either the urban county executive form or county manager plan of government, no more than four.
B. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A, the landlord may specifically provide for the applicability of the provisions of this chapter in the rental agreement.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

It appears from your first posting that your landlord is offering you two options; to terminate the lease or (when your current lease expires) to enter into a new one with a $300 per month rent increase.

Sounds like your concern is that you wish to remain in the rental unit at the same rent rate as you now provide.

Gail

 

[sandyclaus]

It appears from your first posting that your landlord is offering you two options; to terminate the lease or (when your current lease expires) to enter into a new one with a $300 per month rent increase.

Sounds like your concern is that you wish to remain in the rental unit at the same rent rate as you now provide.

Gail

Yup.

Basically, OP wants it all his way - either give me the same as I got last time, or I want more time to find an alternate.

The law provides for neither of those options here.

OP needs to decide - either he is willing to sign the new lease for the increased rent amount, or he needs to get his butt in gear and find a new place to live for he and his family. 30 days may not seem like a lot of time, but it's what the law allows in his case, and it is more than fair and adequate.