Can You Give a 15-day Notice to End a Lease, Even When a Landlord Asks for 60 Days?

For property renters, there may come a time when you want to end your tenancy before the end of your lease. You may have a family emergency, need to relocate for a new job, or find your living situation no longer suitable. Although leases usually last for a set term and require a certain notice period, you may not be out of luck if you need to break your lease early.

One of the best and easiest ways to initially address this situation is to talk to your landlord. If you explain your situation, your landlord may be willing to let you leave without the proper notice. However, if your relationship with your landlord isn’t so amicable, there may be legal remedies available to help you leave without 60-day notice. The worst-case scenario may be that you will owe your landlord rent to cover the time period between when you give your notice to leave and the required 60-day notice.

If you can’t afford to cover this cost, retaining an attorney who is experienced in landlord-tenant agreements can help you get out of your lease without breaking the bank. Each jurisdiction has different landlord-tenant laws and requirements for ending a tenancy, so an attorney can provide you with information you need to handle your particular case.

For example, in most jurisdictions, your landlord is required to take reasonable steps to re-rent the property and credit that rent towards your remaining balance. Additionally, there are legally justifiable reasons for you to break your lease without giving the required notice. These reasons may include the landlord’s failure to maintain fit and habitable housing or substantial destruction of the property.

Moving out of a rented apartment or house quickly is stressful enough without having to fight with your landlord. Whether you are legally justified in breaking your lease or not, an attorney will be able to assist you in getting out, so that you can move on to your new home.

Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help your wade through this process and determine a positive solution. Contact him at 813-549-0096.

The opinions in this post are solely those of the author. The author takes full responsibility for the content. Like all blog posts, this is offered for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

When a debt owed on a house has not been paid, the lender or mortgage holder can initiate a foreclosure. A foreclosure is the legal mechanism used by creditors to repossess the property so that it can be sold and the debt owed on the home can be repaid. Creditors can foreclose a property anytime after the homeowner starts missing payments on the mortgage, unless otherwise stated otherwise in the mortgage terms, or in the laws of the state where the property is located.

If the deed to the property has more than one person listed on it, it is possible that a notice of foreclosure could be sent to only one of the listed deed holders. In the event that this occurs, the party that received the notice of foreclosure has 20 days after the date that the petition for foreclosure was served to service the other deed holder with the foreclosure documents. If this does not occur, the party not receiving notice of foreclosure can request a default motion. This will speed up the final hearing process to finish your case.

Foreclosure cases are all unique because there are many factors that impact the foreclosure process. If your HOA has filed a default motion in your foreclosure case, you need to immediately retain an attorney to help you navigate the foreclosure proceedings. An attorney will be able to assist you in understanding the nuances of your particular foreclosure case and equip you with the resources you need to try to save your home being repossessed.

No foreclosure case is exactly alike, so an attorney will be able to answer all of your individual questions about the foreclosure action against you. An attorney may also be able to take an immediate action to help slow the foreclosure process, including filing a motion for continuance. This is why you need to retain an attorney as soon as you receive the first foreclosure notice because waiting too long may prevent the appropriate motions from being filed.

Even though a creditor may technically own your house, it still feels like your own personal property. Make sure you retain an attorney to help you fight to save your home.

Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help your wade through this process and determine a positive solution. Contact him at 813-549-0096.

The opinions in this post are solely those of the author. The author takes full responsibility for the content. Like all blog posts, this is offered for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

A landlord may apply the security deposit to their actual lose from a tenant violating their rental agreement. The details for when a landlord can withhold a security deposit should be stated in the rental agreement.

There are a couple situations where a landlord may keep a tenant’s security deposit. The first is when there is an early termination of the lease. If a tenant breaks their lease, the landlord may keep part, or all, of the security deposit as stated in the lease and laws of the state you live in. If the lease includes an early termination clause than the tenant will have to abide by those terms.

Secondly, a landlord may keep the security deposit in the case of nonpayment of rent. When a tenant fails to pay rent, it is considered a breach of lease and the landlord is able to keep the security deposit to help soften the blow of the rent lost.

In addition, a landlord may be able to keep the security deposit to fix damage to the property that is beyond the normal wear and tear, which depends on how long you lived in the unit and what types of repairs are typical for that amount of time. Examples of damage would be large holes in the wall, huge stains on the carpet, broken doors or windows, and keys not returned at the end of tenancy.

Next, cleaning costs are another reason the landlord may be able to keep the security deposit. Landlords are expected to clean the unit before the next tenant moves in and if the cleaning that needs to be done is excessive then the landlord may keep the security deposit to use toward the cleaning fee.

Lastly, a landlord may be able to keep a tenant’s security deposit to pay for any utilities that the tenant neglected to pay even though they were required to pay them as a part of their lease.

These are some examples of situations where the landlord may be able to keep the tenants security deposit. Be sure to read your lease carefully and have everything explained to you so you know exactly what you are getting into so you aren’t caught of guard at any time.

Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help your wade through this process and determine a positive solution. Contact him at 813-549-0096.

The opinions in this post are solely those of the author. The author takes full responsibility for the content. Like all blog posts, this is offered for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

Are you a month-to-month tenant renting a home that is in a pre-foreclosure and wondering what will happen next? Although these answers are generally more accurate when looking directly at your case, here are some of the basic facts that can hopefully paint you a clearer picture of the next steps.

First off, one of the most important things to know is the “Protecting Tenants in Foreclosure Act of 2009”. Before President Obama signed this act, most renters would lose their leases after a foreclosure; however, this legislation states that leases can stay intact.

There are two options available; the tenant can either stay until the end of their lease or month-to-month tenants are entitled to their lease for 90 more days before they are required to move out. This is a great benefit to tenants because this 90-day notice period is longer than any state’s non-foreclosure notice period, this gives the tenants time to find another place to live.

Here is some other important information that you should be aware of. If the buyer intends to live on the property, then they have the right to terminate the lease with a 90-day notice. In these cases, if state legislation is more generous to tenants, federal law will not overrule the state law.

In addition, those who live in a city with rent control “just cause” eviction protection are also protected. A change in ownership does not automatically justify a termination, and the fact that the change happened through a foreclosure does not make it any different. Tenants in these cases should look at their city’s ordinances list of allowable, or “just causes” for termination so they are aware of where they stand.

If you find yourself in this situation and you are unsure what do to, don’t be afraid to speak to an attorney. They have the knowledge and means to help you figure things out and they will help you better understand the whole process and each individual step.

Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help your wade through this process and determine a positive solution. Contact him at 813-549-0096.

The opinions in this post are solely those of the author. The author takes full responsibility for the content. Like all blog posts, this is offered for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice.