Landlord requesting unpaid rent before lease term up

[Pengoose]

I lived in a Houston apartment for three years and recently purchased a home. I had six months left on my lease and moved out, in effect breaking the lease. Here is my situation...

Though I was breaking the lease I did give the required 60 days written notice which they accepted with no question. I scheduled the final walkthrough with the complex manager and there were no damages and was in really good condition. I returned my keys, give them my forwarding address, and I was out of there. Just 30 days later I received a bill from the apartment complex, for the remaining six months of unpaid rent. Not only did they send me the bill before the lease terms were up, but they also charged me $500 for not giving proper notice, and a crap load of fees. It has now been 35 days since I received the original bill. Today I received a letter from a collection agency. I have a few questions:

1) Can the apartment complex charge me for the entire unpaid rent, even if they have rented the apartment to a new tenant?

2) If they haven't rented the apartment to a new tenant, how can they send me a bill prior to the end of the lease terms. There is still 4+ more months they could rent it?

3) Besides breaking the lease I follow the move-out rules by the book, even giving the required 60 day notice. Can they charge me for not giving the proper notice?What is the name of your state?

 

[OHlandlord]

The LL has a duty to mitigate damages and try to find a new tenant for your unit. If a new tenant moves in before your leaase ends, he cannot double dip, that is, accept rent from you and the new tenant. He can only accept rent from one tenant for any period of time. He can charge you for the rent until the unit is re-rented, advertising fees, and any other money he loses because you broke your lease. If you gave proper notice (was it a full 60 days?), he cannot charge you for improper notice. He should have waited until he rented the unit to send you a bill for the unpaid rent. Since he does not know that he won't be able to re-rent it within the next 4 months, he can't charge you for that yet. Write a dispute letter to the LL and the collection agency. Offer to continue to pay the rent until it is re-rented. Remember now that you own real estate, he cant take you to small claims, get a judgement, and place a lien on your new home.

 

[Happy Trails]

The LL has a duty to mitigate damages and try to find a new tenant for your unit. If a new tenant moves in before your leaase ends, he cannot double dip, that is, accept rent from you and the new tenant. He can only accept rent from one tenant for any period of time. He can charge you for the rent until the unit is re-rented, advertising fees, and any other money he loses because you broke your lease. If you gave proper notice (was it a full 60 days?), he cannot charge you for improper notice. He should have waited until he rented the unit to send you a bill for the unpaid rent. Since he does not know that he won't be able to re-rent it within the next 4 months, he can't charge you for that yet. Write a dispute letter to the LL and the collection agency. Offer to continue to pay the rent until it is re-rented. Remember now that you own real estate, he cant take you to small claims, get a judgement, and place a lien on your new home.

You accidently put a "t" on can.

 

[COlandlord]

Maybe it's the state I am in, but a landlord can charge thru a lease term and charge the resident for it. In my state I have 60 days (per my lease) to send the resident an itemized list of charges. If I am unable to rent the unit within that time frame, I charge for the entire lease term. Once the unit is leased, I am required to send a revision crediting back any fees charged.

 

[Zigner]

Maybe it's the state I am in, but a landlord can charge thru a lease term and charge the resident for it. In my state I have 60 days (per my lease) to send the resident an itemized list of charges. If I am unable to rent the unit within that time frame, I charge for the entire lease term. Once the unit is leased, I am required to send a revision crediting back any fees charged.

L/T law is very state-specific. Giving examples from a different state does absolutely nothing to help the poster, and can actually confuse him. Please do not post information from other states...

 

[COlandlord]

Excuse me, Zigner..but I was responding to one of the posters who stated that a landlord cannot charge for unpaid rent. The poster needs to be aware that information like that could be wrong. If you would like to help, please post state specific guidelines on return of security deposits and unpaid rent. It's obvious that your vast knowledge is needed.