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Termination of month-to-month lease/tenancy

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ajp2009

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I have just given written notice of termination to terminate a lease. Notice was given on the last day in February to terminate on the last day of the following month (March).

The original lease was a fixed term lease with an "Expiration Date" of December 31, 2007. The lease changed on to a month-to-month basis at the end of the Term and has been like this for the last 14 months.

The landlord has advised me that I am responsible until the end of April because I did not give 45 days notice to terminate. The section of the original fixed term lease in question is as follows:-

4.Automatic Renewal and Notice of Termination​

A. This lease automatically renews on a month-to-month basis unless Landlord or Tenant provides the other party written notice of termination not less than 45 days before the Expiration Date.​

B. If this lease automatically renews on a month-to-month basis, it will continue to renew on a month-to-month basis until either party provides written notice of termination to the other party and the notice of termination will be effective on the last day of the month following the month in which the notice is given. Landlord is not obligated to prorate rent even if Tenant surrenders the Property before the termination date.​
I believed that Part "A" referred to the original lease and Part "B" to the month-to-month lease, as "B" clearly states the case for a month-to-month tenancy and termination is on the last day of the month following the month in which the notice to terminate was given.

Who is correct in this case and do I owe rent for April?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


Who's Liable?

Senior Member
It appears you are correct. What did the LL say when you pointed this out?
X2... OP is correct... It's all in the wording of the contract... LL screwed themselves on this one...

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

4.Automatic Renewal and Notice of Termination​

A. This lease automatically renews on a month-to-month basis unless Landlord or Tenant provides the other party written notice of termination not less than 45 days before the Expiration Date.​
This is in affect for while there STILL IS a lease, and it has NOT converted to a month-to-month lease...




B. If this lease automatically renews on a month-to-month basis, it will continue to renew on a month-to-month basis until either party provides written notice of termination to the other party and the notice of termination will be effective on the last day of the month following the month in which the notice is given. Landlord is not obligated to prorate rent even if Tenant surrenders the Property before the termination date.​
This section is for when the lease has already converted to a month-to-month lease. Furthermore, LL may be in violation of their LL/T laws if state law requires rent be prorated for days not used...

I believed that Part "A" referred to the original lease and Part "B" to the month-to-month lease, as "B" clearly states the case for a month-to-month tenancy and termination is on the last day of the month following the month in which the notice to terminate was given.
You are correct...
 

ajp2009

Junior Member
When I spoke to the LL about this, they were adamant that we had to give 45 days notice and refused to accept that the termination would occur at the end of March and said that we were liable for the property until the end of April. They also said that we should have given notice in January if we wanted to terminate at the end of March. Their view is that the 45 days applies to both the original lease and the month-to-month tenancy.

I intend to surrender the property on the 20th March and not pay the rent for April. I will notify the LL that I dispute their claim for April rent because of clause 4B and that I expect the return of the security deposit within 30 days of surrender of the property in line with the Texas Property Code section 92.109.

Are there any issues with this approach?
 

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