Topic: Scenario: Resident is MtM and gave a notice...

Scenario: Resident is on month to month since January 2018. They tell me that they will be moving. Fast forward to October 10th the esident puts in 30 day notice to move out by the 20th. I explained to them it's not a proper 30 day notice & they will be charged for November rent. I explained in detail that there is no proration of rent on the last month. He seemed to understand and didn't push it. They did not leave a forwarding address (later they said they did) therefore losing their right to dispute charges. I did the SODA sent it to the address they lived at on my property. They sent a dispute letter stating they don't understand why they must be responsible. My boss told me that we need to credit them with the rent. I went back & forth with my supervisor about it not being right. She called our attorney and he said that since they wont be occupying it in November that they cant be charge for an empty townhome since they are on month to month! In all my 17 years I have always charged the next month rent if they didn't give notice by or on the 1st to be moved by the last say of the month. There were also some other issues about a walk through, etc. But the bottom line is they still should be held liable . Someone who broke their lease would be responsible for the time it is vacant so what's the difference! What do you think?

I don’t think you can charge “rent” when they aren’t occupying it, but maybe a “notice fee” if it’s in your lease , or a relet fee, something along those lines

I think you accept this 'loss' and keep it moving. =)

Did they pay all of October rent? If so, I would only charge them for 9 days of insufficient notice. Your 30 days would run 10/10 to 11/9/2018

Depends on their lease; what did they sign?

Jennifer Walls month to month since January. All lease terms still apply.

Nancy Alex what abou the notice section? You can choose one of two options (that I know of) including a notice can be accepted only on the first of the month or during a month. Check the buy-out agreement?

Jennifer Walls we dont have a buyout agreement. Our lease says no proration on the last month of tenancy which translates into the notice must be given at the beginning of the month (the 1st) to vacate by the last day if the month.

I would charge the difference as an insufficient notice fee.

My state only requires thirty days not calendar thirty days so we just charge the prorate

We charge the remaining days of the 30 day notice to terminated income, which is income lost due to insufficient ntv

our tenants have to give notice first of the month —And if they do not turn in keys on the last day of the month when their lease ends, it says in their lease they can be charged for the following month Since units are rented by the month and not by the day. Although normally if this happens we charge by prorating the number of days. .. we do it the same for all tenants.

Don’t charge “rent;” charge insufficient notice.

I thought ‘accelerated rent’ nor ‘last months rent’ were in the contract. If they didnt agree to be charged for it, you cant charge them. Correct?

Probably depends on the state, but I don’t think you can charge the whole next month. Their lease says 30 day notice, so you can charge for 30 days of rent from time of notice. That’s it. I think it’s kind of weird you don’t prorate the last month. Not everyone is able to move the exact last day of the month.

The other question is if you rerented the unit for a move in sooner. You cannot collect rent from 2 parties on the same unit for the same period of time. Am I wrong?

A fee would have to be a set amount. It doesn’t seem like the way this particular lease is worded that would be possible. If someone is on mtm and expecting to pay through 30 day notice, and you charge the whole month, the “fee” would be dependent on when the 30 day notice is given. I don’t think a judge would rule in favor of a sliding scale fee either.

We hold ours rent responsible for the thirty days.

Thirty day notice... so if they give me notice on the 10th, I charge them to the 10th of the next month.

Improper notice fee

They didnt break their lease. They had a one month rental agreement. That ended each month on the 30th and began again on the first.
I dont know what state you are in but some states are much more restrictive about these accomidations to the point of being run like a hotel. If you charged them an up fee monthly for the right to do that then they own the right to leave at the end of the one month rental period.

If they gave you notice 10/10 that they would be out 11/20 it appears to be sufficient 30day notice & rent should prorated through 11/20 also even if the lease says otherwise I’m sure your company would hate to go to court for 10days worth of rent & they figured it’s cheaper to cut their losses

The one thing I see often is we spend thousands on marketing to get move ins however we act petty when they move out leaving a very bad taste - most fail to realize is being petty eliminates your move outs from referring others to your community because they had a great experience or them even moving back someday Best advice- Do not nickle and dime them when they move out i.e charging for drip pans, one missing blind etc Make the move out experience as good as the move in experience

Similar question....... I was a resident manager at a property back in 2013. When we parted ways, I never received any accounting for damages. In California, that statement must be sent within 21 calendar days of the date keys are turned in. I never received it, now; I would believe that it got lost in the mail, but the mailing address I used at the time was with my parents, and I received all of my mail there until 2016.

I am trying to clean up old items on my credit report to raise my score (I need dental implants and have the income to support the financial aspect, but not the credit score). I found that they sent me to 2 different collection agencies for amounts that differ by $1. WTH?

What can my legal team use to challenge this?

I think sometimes we can be really petty. Don’t let this linger. Move on.

I think a boss, supervisor and attorney said don’t charge

Debby Jordan you oversee 71 communities?? And you are still personally doing move out inspections?? Wow.

Nancy, I am in Michigan also. My understanding of MTM is that 30 days notice is required. So, in your case I would say to charge through 11/20 to equal 30 days notice rather than charge for all of November. Not sure how your lease reads, but I would call it a buy out fee or anything other than rent or you would have to refund any overlap.

Depends on the state. Are you using the NAA lease?

Bottomline, what is in your lease agreement. Does it clearly state that notice has to be given on or before the 1st, next question is it a 30 day notice or a full calendar month. Third, what does your Landlord Tenant Law state.

It is interputed as a calendar month because it states no proration for the last month of tenancy . Therefore it must be given on or before the 1st and out
by the last day of the month

This should just be a forfeit of sec. dep. (if it is noted in lease that a 30 day notice must be given) if keys were turned in and they are on a mtm you can't charge for the next month.

I would charge then the reletting fee and rent up to the time the unit is re-let or if still vacant, up to 60 days rent regardless of them residing there. This is within the confines of our lease.