Renter/Landlord stuff - Not sure if this is the best forum, but...

[KikiW]

Not sure if I should try a different forum altogether, but thought if anyone had ideas I'd be happy to hear them.

 

I'm in NJ and I rented a 2 bdrm apt about a year and a half ago, with a yearly lease. In desperate need of space with which I can run my business, we found a house for rent that is perfectly suited to our needs. We've decided on a May 15th move-in date.

 

I scoured the original lease for any provisions for breaking the lease early - there is absolutely NOTHING there. According to NJ law, about all i see is that if they do not find a new tenant, i could be liable for the monthly rent until it is re-rented or the end of my lease.

 

I stopped by the management office and was told exactly that, along with "well you're going to lose your security deposit, that's a given."

 

In NJ, it is illegal for landlords to simply keep a security deposit - it is meant to be used to repair damages beyond the normal wear and tear. There is a law on the books that states that security deposits must be returned within 30 days whether the tenant breaks the lease early or not.

 

I did not argue or say anything regarding the security deposit, I figure I will fight that later on. Right now my main concern is making sure they get a renter in for June 1. I told them I would vacate the premises by May 15th and would like to schedule a walkthrough for the 16th in order to return all keys, etc. This will give them two weeks to paint and finish the apartment (more than enough time... this isn't a high end apartment complex, and I intend to CLEAN it once our stuff is all moved out).

 

I gave almost 8 weeks notice, not including the 2 weeks. I just got off the phone with the management lady and she says she might have someone interested. I asked if she would like me to help look for a new tenant as well and she wasn't receptive. Says she doesn't want "just anyone" in the apartment. The downstairs neighbors have been long-term residents and she doesn't want to subject them to loud partiers.

 

I am down with that... to a point. I DO love my neighbors (downstairs AND to the sides) - they are all fantastic, but I don't feel like paying rent on an empty apartment because they are feeling PICKY.

 

So my question is, with a June 1 availability on this apartment (almost 2 months away), would you let her try and find someone on her own or would you start putting the news out there yourself anyway?

[Dust]

When I signed my lease I also signed an included breaking lease provision. The breaking lease provision asked for either 2 months rent or to allow them to find a renter. I of course chose 2 months rent.

 

Since you don’t have a breaking lease provision it sounds like you are stuck at their whims. They have every reason not to rent the place out again if you are stuck paying rent. They don’t have to worry about the people down stairs complaining and more importantly they have no new tenants to worry about.

 

You should take an active role in finding new tenants to rent the place and maybe even sweeten the deal by offering some of your own money if they sign. You should check the state laws, but they probably aren’t aloud to purposely not rent the unit out. If it seems like that’s what they are doing sue them yourself in small claims court no lawyer needed. Just be sure you keep paying your rent so you don’t get counter sued, also failure to pay rent may be an automatic judgment in their favor.

 

Hope this helps.

[KikiW]

Well I don't want to get into a "I'll give you some money if you sign" kind of thing. This is a garden apartment complex with about 250 units, not a private landlord renting me a floor of their house.

 

According to the laws I read, they are supposed to be able to prove they are advertising the unit, and when I talked to her she did say she might have someone interested. I just want to make sure she has such a pool to choose from, they have no reason to turn away a potential new renter. I just don't want bad blood to start if I advertise it and she finds out it was me and gets mad.

 

When I moved in, I literally got the last 2 bedroom apartment available in the place, and since then the housing market has plummeted so I cannot imagine there is a lack of interest. I just don't know how else to securely nail down someone for her.

[carhill]

So my question is, with a June 1 availability on this apartment (almost 2 months away), would you let her try and find someone on her own or would you start putting the news out there yourself anyway?

I'd do whatever myself and the landlord contractually agreed to doing. This presumes you and they have now signed an addendum to the contract to cover this contingency which came up, spelling out each party's respective rights and responsibilities.

 

From a landlord's perspective, I price units based on a specific ROI pertaining to use period, relevant to revenue stream and my costs per increment. For example, a month-to-month lease would be higher due to servicing costs. If I offer a tenant a lower price for a yearly lease and they 'leave' after six months, I need to recoup the costs of advertising, servicing and renovating the space to a presentable state for the new tenant six months prior to the anticipated period. Mitigating this somewhat would be the opportunity, if possible, to raise the rent.

 

What's the vacancy rate in this complex? With 250 units, there's bound to be rolling vacancy and the associated pursuit of new tenants. What's their advertising looking like?

 

Here's my verbiage:

 

"Should tenants vacate before expiration of the term, Tenants will be liable for the balance of the rent for the remainder of the term, less any rent Landlord collects or could have collected from a replacement tenant by reasonably attempting to rerent. Tenants who vacate before expiration of the term are also responsible for Landlord's costs of advertising for a replacement tenant"

 

Myself, I prefer to keep units occupied, so I would be actively seeking a new qualified tenant. Due to the economy, sometimes this is difficult. If you've seen some of the credit scores I have, you'd understand why it's not always easy to find a qualified tenant. Last property (SFH) took almost two months.

 

ETA, California code 1950.5 does allow the landlord to withhold a portion of the tenant's security deposit to 'remedy any default by the Tenants in the payment of rent', in addition to the usual verbiage regarding damage and excessive wear, etc. Thusly, if NJ statute is similar, rentention of some or all of the security deposit *could* be a remedy if the tenant moves out prior to the end of the lease and pays no further rents and no other contractual agreements cover this contingency, presuming the rental agreement specifies rent to term. YMMV and IANAL

 

Your circumstances have caused me to review my rental agreements and expand upon the existing early termination clause. Thanks

Edited April 5, 2011 by carhill

[KikiW]

Carhill, regarding this part of your lease: "Tenants who vacate before expiration of the term are also responsible for Landlord's costs of advertising for a replacement tenant" - I would be careful with that. It does not spell out what you spend on advertising, and a tenant could take exception with what they feel is unreasonable costs. For instance, I can advertise on Craigslist every day for FREE - and many people do just that. Where do you advertise? What are your advertising costs? $50? $100? $500?

 

With regards to renovating, you would have to do that no matter when the tenant moved out, so that would be a cost to factor into whatever rent you charge. I could see if you had tenants signing a year lease and moving after 3 months - that raises cleaning and prepping expenses, but if they are like me, I have been here past my first year's lease, so they are already ahead of the game with me.

 

This is the thing I hate most about renting. I pay my rent on time, I am a quiet neighbor, I have not trashed my apartment, and I am in a position where I have little choice but to leave my apartment about 5 months before the end of the official lease (there are other factors aside from what I mentioned, but I kept it short in the interest of brevity). I am not trying to screw the apartment complex, just trying to make things as fair as possible. I am leaving in the middle of May, have given a firm date, and given them two weeks with which to get the apartment ready for a new tenant (I am obviously paying the full month of May rent).

 

At the same time I am trying to make sure the complex does not drag heels waiting for the "perfect" tenant.

[carhill]

I could see if you had tenants signing a year lease and moving after 3 months - that raises cleaning and prepping expenses, but if they are like me, I have been here past my first year's lease, so they are already ahead of the game with me.

 

I go in and do maintenance and improvements at the end of the lease term, no matter whether the tenant is staying or going. It's called preserving the value of the property. So, I factor that into the price and increment it to the projected period. That's why, along with the associated increased vacancy percentage, month-to-month rent is higher than a year lease, as an example.

 

Essentially, since I value my time at about 100.00 per hour, which is what I make in the shop, any time I spend on the rentals gets incremented to that value. The more time I have to spend, the more it costs the tenants. They don't have to rent from me. It's OK.

 

Where do you advertise? What are your advertising costs? $50? $100? $500?

 

I advertise in the newspaper, on rent.com, and craigslist. Craigslist is great for volume but whoa the lousy credit scores and amazing stories I've been told. Last unit cost, including advertising fees, photography and a walk-through video, about 175.00, which means I charged that much to advertising for the unit. Remember, my time isn't free. It's a business. The apartment complex you live in probably cost someone around $10-12MM to acquire and I can guarantee it's a business to them.

 

I imagine that they already have a replacement tenant lined up. Have a friend call in and inquire, or answer an ad. See what's up.

[KikiW]

Oh I definitely know it's a business for them. The company that owns this property owns others as well. That's part of why I want to do things "by the book"... The last apartment I rented, we had been there 5 years and were EXCELLENT tenants, but the complex tried every trick in the book to get more money out of us - we broke the lease because we had finally bought our first house. Lost half our security as per the lease, but then they tried to tell us we would be liable for January's rent (moved in December) because "they don't rent apartments in January". I actually laughed at them. When that didn't work the best they could do was charge us outrageous prices for things, like $14 for a set of ice trays (the apartment didn't even have any when we moved in, and I would have been happy to leave my $1 set if I knew they'd have pulled that). It took the attorney who handled our closing to write a nice, firm letter to them in order to get the money we were due back.

 

Having a friend call and find out what's going on is a good idea. I will wait a week or two and do just that, unless she tells me this guy she mentioned went ahead and took it.

[carhill]

Another option is, if you have financial 'trouble' with the manager after you have moved out, stop back by later on and knock on the unit door and see if anyone answers. If someone does, new tenant.

 

Also, since apparently 2BR units are scarce in that complex, be sure to have the 'friend' ask 'do you have any 2BR's on offer?' if you try that strategy to see if they're actively pursuing advertising the unit.

 

Again, thanks for bringing this issue up. I have a lease coming up for renewal next month and the timing is perfect

[KikiW]

Will do, thanks for the advice, and glad I could help