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Break lease/damage deposits

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R

russm

Guest
State: Minnesota

I and my roommate recently moved out of an apartment complex. We were renting on a month-to-month basis. According to our lease, we were required to provide the landlord with 2 months notice before moving out.

My roommate purchased a house, and the closing date was such that we ended up giving them 6 weeks notice. The landlord said they would try to find someone to rent the apartment by the date we were moving out.

They did find a tenant before we moved out of the apartment and they moved in the very next day after we moved out. HOWEVER, when we received our damage deposit/security deposit back (originally $250 + 4% interest) they had deducted $250 for breaking the lease plus cleaning charges such that we ended up owing them approx $30.

My question is, if the landlord immediately rents the apartment, how are they able to charge us for breaking the lease? I realize that the lease specifies 2 months, but how is the landlord entitled to $250 where he is not really out anything except for perhaps some advertising, etc.

Am I totally off base, or is it worth pursuing (ie. small claims)

Russ
 


HomeGuru

Senior Member
L can charge you for breaking the lease but cannot charge you rent during your lease term since the new tenants are paying rent. Check out the State Statutes to learn more.
 
L

LL

Guest
I don't know anything about MN law, but

Because you gave a notice which was not in conformity with your lease, the notice might be considered inadequate and not satisfying the lease requirement at all. However, you say that LL moved a new tenant in a day after you moved out, so they evidently accepted your notice and took the apartment back. So thats not a problem.

You are probably responsible for leaving the place clean, even in MN, so the cleaning charge is legitimate if they had to clean it.

As for a charge for breaking the lease, I don't know. LL can't do that in CA. Check your lease, and MN law. Ask LL for an itemized statement of his expenses incurred because you broke the lease. Don't forget that he can probably charge for the time he had to spend to find a replacement tenant, as well as advertising. I have even heard of a court OKing a charge for extra wear and tear on the stairs for an extra moveout/movein during the term of a lease.

 
R

russm

Guest
Checked MN statutes, but they are somewhat vague on this specific point. Merely says "according the terms of the lease" if there is a formal lease (which we had) or 1 month if you do not have a formal lease.

We did receive an itemized (sort of) statement from the landlord regarding the charges.
Damage deposit: $250
Interest: $x
Less break lease charge: $250
Less cleaning (2hrs @ $50): $100

But they did not break down the lease charge. I have no beef with the cleaning charge.

This is a large complex (100+ units) and they have office and full time staff on site. We are located in a medium sized metro area. I find it extremely hard to believe they spent $250 of time on finding a replacement. And even so, is this not a normal expense of operating an apartment building. They would need to advertise, etc. even if we provided adequate notice. I could see the charge if the landlord did not have enough time to find a replacement and the apartment sat empty for a period of time.

Russ
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
Based on the additional details my opinion is that if your lease does not have a condition specificaly stating that there would be a $250 fee charge for breaking the lease, then you are not liable to pay this amount. You are liable though to pay some amount but I deem this amount exhorbitant and under the ruse to contra and use your entire deposit up. If yor deposit was $300 would they set a fee of $300?

And how is it that you say you owe $30 when the cleaning fee was $100?
 
L

LL

Guest
Ask for an itemized breakdown of the break lease charge. If they tell you it's just a charge that they make, ask (always in writing) what is their authority for doing that. Check your lease for a liquidated damages clause (that there are obviously expenses to be associated with a lease violation, so it is agreed to round it off to some amount, like the amount of the security deposit. Maybe they don't need agreement to do that).

All this is NOT a normal expense of operating an apartment house. Normal expenses go with your keeping your part of the contract.

How much time they spent looking for a new tenant. At what rate per hour?

Advertising is not related to notice. They have to get tenants somewhere.

Finally, you are confusing this charge with rent loss. The apartment sitting empty causes rent loss for which you agreed to protect them. It is not clear what this Break Lease charge is for.

I don't know about MN, but in general, L/T laws are all based on mutual rights and responsibilities. You owe them for losses based on your lease violation, but they are not supposed to make profit from you leaving, its only a matter of accounting for the expenses and losses, and reimbursement.

When checking the MN statutes, look for a code that limits what a landlord can charge. If your research says that LL can charge for this "according the terms of the lease", then check your lease. If its not according to your lease, then they can't do it.
 

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