My husband and I are currently buying a home. We are supposed to be closing soon but have not given 30 day notice because we are most likely not going to closing on time. We are in a month to month lease with our current apartment and have been for some years now. The landlord is very well-known for not fixing issues, not handling rodent issues (we are OVERRUN with mice) and not returning security deposits (which is the equivalent of 1 months rent). If we were to go to closing on - let's say 11/30/11 - could we tell the landlord on 12/1/11 that we were moving asap and to apply our security deposit to the final month's rent (December)? We would have moved all of our items from the apartment if we were to do this.

If you're going to do this then make sure you give notice BEFORE 12/1/11. The notice should be given at least one day before the start of the new rental period. If you go to closing on 11/30 then you should give your notice on 11/30 as well.

Unless the lease allows you to apply a deposit to last months rent, no you can not. And you will have to give notice one day prior to 12/1 for it to be Dec notice.

If rent is not paid on last months notice, he can charge late fees and other charges as allowed by the lease

The tenant cannot choose how the security deposit is applied. That is solely up to the landlord. As Chuck noted, if you do not pay the rent on time, he can charge you with a late fee. He can also file for and get an eviction order which can then be put on your record. Even if you have vacated already.

In addition, if there are any charges for damages over and above the security, you can be sued for those costs.

Oh my. I feel some kind of way about this, lol. Thanks so much for all the advice.

Here's another question/information:

Our LL is KNOWN for being... impossible to get deposits back. I'm sure she has already spent the money - as she almost lost the building this calendar year for back taxes - there was a signed posted on the building that it was about to be sold at auction. We would prefer not to have to fight with her to get our money back - if she's not paying her taxes she's really not going to pay us.

We've had several former building mates complain to us about her lack of response. Even in regular maintenance she is not responsive.

Re: notice - we are in DC and DC "state" law says that we only need to give 30 days. We were thinking that since December had 31 days that we would be good for the 1st.

Would any of these items make a difference? If she were to try to sue us/take to court/etc - could we point out her well-known habits in order to set precedence?

Unless you have absolute proof of what you refer to as "well-known habits", they won't be admissible in court. Frankly, they appear to be opinion, not fact.

The fact is the law. The law does not allow a tenant to dictate use of the deposit. If your rent is due on the first then as soon as the rent is late the landlord can issue a pay or quit notice. So you need to adhere to the law.