I' m from California and decided to attend school in Virginia. I rented out a room in this house with 3 other young ladies. Recently the landlord and I agree to terminate my lease by December 31, 2008. I had paid up my rent until the end of the school year, so that I wouldn't have to worry about having to pay rmy rent, because money is very tight and difficulty for my mom to send to me and my brother. I paid my rent paid up to the end of May 2009. The landlord is telling me that she does not have to give me the remaining amount of my rent until she finds a new renter. This can't be legal. Can it

YES she can do this.

Yes.. VA law requires you to pay rent until and if a new tenant has been found. Also, VA is one of a few states that do not require the landlord to mitigate his/her damages. Maybe you can suggest finding a tenant yourself... paying for all advertising costs.

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Originally Posted by LILL

Yes..VA law requires you to pay rent until and if a new tenant has been found. Also, VA is one of a few states that do not require the landlord to mitigate his/her damages. Maybe you can suggest finding a tenant yourself...paying for all advertising costs.

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Even if it was the Landlord who instigated the termination of the lease agreement?

Did they make it like they were evicting you?
What exactly happened that they instigated it?
Who initially wanted you to leave and what happened?

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Originally Posted by Trinab43

Even if it was the Landlord who instigated the termination of the lease agreement?

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No, if the landlord terminated the lease and you can prove that, they cannot charge you rent beyond the termination date.

Why did you and the landlord agree ? Who brought it up, it sounded like you wanted to move and they agreed to let you out of your lease

Yes I agree with Fr_C, a simple agreement from the landlord does not get you out of paying. They are only saying that they acknowledge you are moving. The only way to get out of paying is if you had gotten something in writing saying they would pay you back.

The best thing you can do is try and help find someone to move in your place. The landlord could figure they already have YOUR rent so they aren't concerned if and when somebody else gets in there.

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Originally Posted by N0help4u

Did they make it like they were evicting you?
What exactly happened that they instigated it?
Who initially wanted you to leave and what happened?

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There was a disagreement with one other room mate. The other room mate had been her renter a previous year. Instead of her talking to the rest of us so that we could solve the situation, she called the landlord to complain. We all had a meeting with the landlord, and the landlord decided that it would be best if myself and one other room mate(new) lease was terminated by 12-31-08 instead of 05-09. I had every intention of being a good tenate and making certain that my rent was pay, that's why I paid in advance.
I strongly felt that this should have been solved within the house. There was no property damage. I kept the house clean, even when the others did not assist me. There were times when I would cook for my other room mates. There were a few friends over occasionally, but if there was a problem, it should have been discussed among us. The landlord should not have been involved.

The landlord doesn't care about all that. She decided it was best for you to go and you left. It doesn't sound like you have any option but to wait and see if she gets another person to move in your place.
It would probably been better for you if you had not went along with it and made her evict you or put an agreement in writing.

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Originally Posted by N0help4u

Yes I agree with Fr_C, a simple agreement from the landlord does not get you out of paying. They are only saying that they acknowledge you are moving. The only way to get out of paying is if you had gotten something in writing saying they would pay you back.

The best thing you can do is try and help find someone to move in your place. The landlord could figure they already have YOUR rent so they aren't concerned if and when somebody else gets in there.

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I am working on trying to get someone else to take my place, so that I can get the rest of money. This is a learning experience for me. I will never pay in advance again. I was basically trying to make certain that my mom wouldn't have to worry about where I would live, being so far away from home.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

No, if the landlord terminated the lease and you can prove that, they cannot charge you rent beyond the termination date.

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Yes your responses are helping me a great deal

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Originally Posted by N0help4u

The landlord doesn't care about all that. She decided it was best for you to go and you left. It doesn't sound like you have any option but to wait and see if she gets another person to move in your place.
It would probably been better for you if you had not went along with it and made her evict you or put an agreement in writing.

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She sent me a letter changing the end date of the lease agreement. Instead of the lease agreement ending 05-09. She stated that it would end 12-31-08.

If she changed the date on the lease then I would think that you have a case because that seems that she is no longer binding you to live there until May.

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Originally Posted by N0help4u

If she changed the date on the lease then I would think that you have a case because that seems that she is no longer binding you to live there until May.

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Yeah, that's what I think.

Did you get anything in writing? Unless you have something that says that the landlord is terminating your lease effective 12/31 then you may be out of luck. But if you have such proof, then, since it was the landlord's decision, they casnnot withhold your refund.

In fact, if the landlord did not give you at least 30 days notice in writing you aren't required to vacate. Frankly, depending on the way the lease is worded and the nature of the disagreement, the landlord may not have had any right to terminate the lease.

Yeah I am starting to think you have a case
Scott has a point about if the landlord made you leave without official notice and with them re'writing' the lease to say Dec.
When you had already paid through May.

Ok, just read rest of the responses. The landlord CANNOT change the terms of the lease without your agreement. Nor can the landlord terminate the lease without legal cause. It sounds like she had neither. Frankly, I'm not sure you have to vacate.

But I seriously doubt if a court would grant the landlord the right to keep your prepaid rental.

I think you have some choices here. I would go to the landlord and tell them, that you don't want to live where you aren't wanted. So you are willing to move out on 12/31 even though the landlord has no legal grounds to terminate the lease. However, you will not move unless the prepaid rent for Jan-May is returned to you prior to 12/31. Tell the landlord that you have researched the legalities and you don't believe a court will grant the landlord an eviction under the circumstances.

As for paying in advance, what you could have done is placed the money into a separate bank account and pay your rent out of that.

You mentioned that the landlord sent you a letter stating that the lease was terminating as of Dec. 31 instead of in May 09. Since the landlord terminated the lease in writing, as long as you move out by Dec. 31 then she is not entitled to any rent after that date. Once you've moved out send her a letter by certified mail, with a copy by regular mail, confirming that you have moved out as per her termination letter and you look forward to the receipt of the 5 months of rent that you prepaid plus the security deposit you provided, on or before February 15, 2009. Make sure that you give her your forwarding address and make sure that you keep a copy of the letter. If she hasn't paid you in full by Feb. 15th then you should file a lawsuit.

Lisa's advice is the other way to handle it. The drawback to her method is that you have to wait for the return of your funds.

The one drawback to my method, is I'm not sure if the land had legal grounds to terminate the lease early. Since you haven't explained what the dispute was nor do we know the wording of the lease, there is a possibility they had legal grounds to do so.

In either case, its clear the landlord terminated the lease and you have documentation to prove that. So the landlord has no right to withhold your prepaid rent or security. The question is how far you have to go to get it.