[dval]

My rent was raised a full 10% last September and I could no longer afford
To pay such high rent and was scared it would be done again this year so I
Called the property manager and told her I would be leaving unless she
Would call the owner and let them know I am a single parent struggling as
It is to pay the already high rent, The property manager told me No she
Will not do that because the landlord knows there is a risk that the
Tenant may move out when they raise the rent. She was fired from the
Property management and is no longer working there. I was having a hard
Time with the new 10% increase this year so I began searching for a place
To live and found one but I only had time to give a week notice since the
New place would be available right away and I could afford it, had I given
A 30 day chances are the opportunity to move into a more affordable place
Would be lost, and continuing to pay 1,375 was putting me in greater
Hardship. They accepted my $45.00 for one day of rent for the month of
April, I have a receipt for that and then we did a walk through, they
Accepted the keys and I had no further access to the place since I was out
And they behaved as though I was out. I left the place immaculate, even
Though they gave it to me filthy when I had moved into it, that info is on
The walk through paper when I went into it, so I left it way nicer than
They gave it to me. They credited me 75.00 for the carpet cleaning, but
Not for cleaning when I moved in and when I left. I got a notice in the
Mail saying thank-you for leaving the place in such a clean condition but
We are keeping your deposit for rent of 45.83 per day for 24 days, balance
Due owner 24.92. I was told by a friend that it is illegal to keep deposit
In lieu of rent and since they accepted my keys and walk through and check
For the one day of that month, it is like acceptance of my one week
Written notice to them.

Please let me know what I can do about it, is it legal for them to accept the keys and my final check. Then keep the deposit for rent when I had no further access to the property.

I am in California.

[Fr_Chuck]

I would assume your rental agreement stated you had to give a 30 day notice, they are under no obligation to agree to less, but you basically told them when you were leaving, and they did the final inspection when you decided to leave with you. Unless you had a signed agreement that this was being done and the remainder of the 30 day notice was waived, then yes of course you owe the balnace of your legal notice that would be required by your rental agreement.

When my tennants get ready to leave of course you get the keys back, If they moved someone else in before this date, that would be the only thing that would effect it.
This seems very reasonable to me as a landlord.

[landlord advocate]

If the landlord was able to rent the apartment right away, then your deposit might have been returned. Since he had your signed lease, and the apartment did not rent before the end of your lease, he had the right to use your security deposit to pay the remaining days of your lease agreement. The landlord is in the right.

[dval]

My written notice was accepted in person and so was my check that I got a receipt from them for for the due rent in April. They went trough with walk trough and got the keys. That would mean they are in acceptance by action. I also was not told that I could have the place for another 24 days because they would eventually come back and charge me for it. I had no access to it, they never said no we will do the walk through after 30 days and then you can turn in the keys. They accepted the dead line and treated it as such, I would have had more time to keep my stuff there if I was actually in possession. I believe they messed up by doing it that way, remember this was the property management and I am asuming they made a mistake by the obvious actions and the homeowner didn't like it too much after the fact, Where can I find actual law information regarding this?

[LisaB4657]

I'm really sorry but I'm going to have to tell you something that you don't want to hear.

You don't have a case.

I can appreciate the argument that you're making but it won't be accepted by a court. The fact that the landlord "accepted" your notice and rent check does not imply that they agreed to your early termination and gave up their rights. All they did was accept possession of the property and a partial payment of rent. The friend who gave you your information was completely wrong.

If you had a written lease then you are responsible for the rent until the end of the term of that lease or until a new tenant moves in, whichever is earlier. If you didn't have a written lease then you were a month-to-month tenant and you were required by law to give at least 30 days notice.

If you did have a written lease that didn't end until August or September then you should consider yourself lucky that you are merely forfeiting your deposit and you aren't paying another 4 or 5 months worth of rent to this landlord.

[ScottGem]

Your friend needs to re-educate themselves. You will find a link to CA tenants laws at the top of this forum. But the bottom line is that almost all states allow the landlord to retain the deposit to pay for unpaid rentals.

I agree with Lisa, they could have charged you even more so count yourself fortunate.

[dval]

I have a rental receipt that says " no balance due". I got that in the office in person the day they accepted the early termination of the month to month.

[Cvillecpm]

The receipt is meaningless since your deposit was not at issue when you paid rent for only 1 day... you owe the money and should pay it ASAP with notation on your check that this is payment in full for your tenancy at XXXX address. Be sure to keep a copy of your check when it is returned by your bank.

You were not relieved from your obligation to provide a 30 day written notice and the fact that you cleaned the property is to your credit and is probably the reason that your notice did not indicate MORE money was required.