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Overstaying a lease: Does a Notice To Quit and/or Vacate need to be given when a lease terminates?

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alexander468

Active Member
What is the name of your state? Massachusetts

I've lived in the same apartment for 11 years. When my lease terminated in previous years, sometimes the landlord had a new lease set up in time and sometimes the landlord accepted rent for a few months under a tenancy at will before I received a new lease. Other than rent increases, my lease provisions haven't changed. There has never been a lease clause about an option to renew and the lease has never contained a self-extension clause.

In August 2018, the landlord informed me by the cover letter to my current lease that "We will not renew your lease beyond April 30, 2019," the termination date to my current lease. The verbal explanation was that they wanted to remodel the apartment.

I was expecting a 30 day Notice To Quit before April 1 to confirm that the landlord wanted me out by April 30, but I didn't receive one. Based on my past history in the apartment, "we will not renew your lease" and "we want you to vacate" seem like two things with potentially different timelines. Am I permitted to stay in the apartment with no threat of eviction as long as I keep paying rent and haven't received a Notice to Quit? Or can the landlord begin eviction proceedings on May 1 with no Notice to Quit because the lease terminated on April 30? If I do vacate on April 30 without having sent a 30 day Notice to Vacate to the landlord before April 1 then am I in danger of losing my security deposit because of steps we took during previous years?
 


LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? Massachusetts

I've lived in the same apartment for 11 years. When my lease terminated in previous years, sometimes the landlord had a new lease set up in time and sometimes the landlord accepted rent for a few months under a tenancy at will before I received a new lease. Other than rent increases, my lease provisions haven't changed. There has never been a lease clause about an option to renew and the lease has never contained a self-extension clause.

In August 2018, the landlord informed me by the cover letter to my current lease that "We will not renew your lease beyond April 30, 2019," the termination date to my current lease. The verbal explanation was that they wanted to remodel the apartment.

I was expecting a 30 day Notice To Quit before April 1 to confirm that the landlord wanted me out by April 30, but I didn't receive one. Based on my past history in the apartment, "we will not renew your lease" and "we want you to vacate" seem like two things with potentially different timelines. Am I permitted to stay in the apartment with no threat of eviction as long as I keep paying rent and haven't received a Notice to Quit? Or can the landlord begin eviction proceedings on May 1 with no Notice to Quit because the lease terminated on April 30? If I do vacate on April 30 without having sent a 30 day Notice to Vacate to the landlord before April 1 then am I in danger of losing my security deposit because of steps we took during previous years?
You really need to speak to the landlord. I think an argument can be made that they gave you your notice early, by giving it to you last August. If you speak to them, they might give you an extra month. If you don't speak to them, they might start eviction proceedings.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
Based on my past history in the apartment, "we will not renew your lease" and "we want you to vacate" seem like two things with potentially different timelines.
They aren't.

Am I permitted to stay in the apartment with no threat of eviction as long as I keep paying rent and haven't received a Notice to Quit?
No.

You have been given your notice to quit.

can the landlord begin eviction proceedings on May 1 with no Notice to Quit because the lease terminated on April 30?
Yes.

As a matter of fact he can begin eviction proceedings before May 1 if he has reason to believe you will overstay your welcome.

See MA eviction statute section 239-1A:

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIII/TitleIII/Chapter239/Section1A
If I do vacate on April 30 without having sent a 30 day Notice to Vacate to the landlord before April 1 then am I in danger of losing my security deposit because of steps we took during previous years?
Nobody can predict what any landlord will do under any given set of circumstances but if he keeps your deposit wrongly you can sue him in small claims court.

Here's an idea. If you like the place and you and the landlord have performed to each other's satisfaction why not ask if there is another apartment that you can be transferred to?
 

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