Are we entiltled to last mo rent back?

Subj: questions about a lease

From: Katsinjams


We had a one year lease on a house in Aurora, Colorado. The lease says that either party must give a 60 day notice to the opposing party. We were given a written notice that our lease would not be renewed 45 days before the end of the lease. We found a place to live in two weeks and moved. He moved in a week later to that same house. He gave us back our total deposit, but says he will not give us back the last months rent. Didn't he break the lease, by not giving us a 60 days notice, making it null and void? And if he was not going to return our money, what gives him the right to move into a house we were still paying on? He does not own this house, just manages it.

I need to know if we have any rights here? Hope you can help.

Donna
Katsinjams@aol.com

As I understand it, you moved out 15 days after you were given notice. Technically, you still owed that last month's rent. But if the landlord broke the lease terms by only giving you 45 days notice, then he broke the lease's terms also. Do you have a record--signed and dated letter--giving you notice? If you have written proof of the date you were actually given notice and a copy of the terms of your lease, I would suggest taking the landlord to small claims court. Let the judge listen and make a decision.

Did the lease say that Landlord had to give 60 days' notice that he would not renew the lease, or 60 to terminate it before the end of the year?

If the first, then the 45 days' notice of non-renewal was not improper. (Love those legalese double negatives!) If the second, notice was improper and you did not have to leave. You broke the lease by leaving a month early.

In either case, when a tenant breaks a lease, the landlord has a duty to mitigate damages by trying to re-rent the unit ASAP. Here, the manager either failed to mitigate damages by not renting the apt to a paying tenant, or he was "renting" to himself. He has to refund your last month's rent, because keeping it AND keeping the "rent" he paid himself constitutes unjust enrichment. His "damages" from your move were the prorated rent for the week the apt was empty (if this ran into another month), which should be offset by the money he saved not having to advertise/screen new tenants.

Drag him kicking and screaming into small claims court. You may also have to name the owner in the suit, since the rent money was presumably paid to the owner. And won't THAT get him fired!

Write him a letter (ceritfied, return receipt) telling him what you will do if he doesn't refund your last month's rent within 5 days. Then do it. You get your costs back if you win in court.



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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.