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jess1604 · May 30, 2008, 10:42 AM

My mother works at an apartment complex in Missouri. She has been there for 3 years through 3 different management companies. On 5/20 she was recently terminated along with two other long term employees. Before they told her that she had been fired, they asked her to sign a lease for the upcoming year. They told her that she would have 30 days to decide if she wanted to terminate the lease or continue renting her apartment at full cost. They came to her today and told her that she didn't have 30 days, that she had until the end of the day on 5/31 (today) to remove her belongings and relocate or pay $750.00 to stay. I was under the impression that they needed to give 30 days from the date of termination as a move out date. Is this true?

LisaB4657 · May 30, 2008, 10:49 AM

Yes, they have to give her at least 30 days advance notice that her lease is terminated.

Fr_Chuck · May 30, 2008, 11:30 AM

Whle yes she should have, does anywhere in the lease does it mention being tied to her work. Also does the actual paper work, not what the manager told them, but what does the actual paperwork say. Can she prove they gave her 30 days to decide.

But they are suppose to give 30 day notice, but then, with a signed lease they can not actually give notice either.

LisaB4657 · May 30, 2008, 12:04 PM

Quoted from email, with permission:

Thank you for your response. That was very quick! Would you know if they can charge her additional fees if they do end up giving her 30 days?

It depends on what was in the lease. If the lease required the tenant to pay additional fees (unlikely), then yes, they can charge them. If the lease did not provide for any additional fees then they can't start making them up now. But if her employment is already terminated and she is staying in the apartment for 30 days beyond that, and if the landlord sued, then a judge would probably decide that the landlord was entitled to receive a reasonable amount of rent for that 30 day period.

jess1604 · May 30, 2008, 12:04 PM

Thank you for your response. That was very quick! Would you know if they can charge her additional fees if they do end up giving her 30 days? Since she was an employee, her rent was reduced and now they want to increase rent/add fees if she stays past 5/31.

Also, from my experience (which is limited) when employees live at the apartment where they work, they usually aren't asked to sign a lease. She was asked to sign a typical lease that is standard for both residents who are not employees. After she signed, they advised her that she was terminated and that she had the option to continue on with the lease or leave after 30 days. This of course was all verbal - which isn't binding in Missouri. So I was curious as to any laws that there might be to protect employees/former employees in situations like these. She has 2 children that live with her and no vehicle to move her belongings even if she was able to find a new apartment/job in a couple of days.

Fr_Chuck · May 30, 2008, 01:03 PM

Well this is the issue, can they charge her a lot of fees, yes, is it legal, most maybe, the issue is that what ever was said before she signed the lease is not binding, only what is actually in the lease. In this case it is possible that a court will believe them under the work/apartment relationship.

But you can expect the apartment complex to try and add all sorts of fees if she does not move when they say. Ok after that, she can either pay and then sue them for the money back, or refuse to pay and let them sue her and then let the court decide what is really owed.

What she needed to do, was to write every word the person promised on the lease and ask them to sign it.