Giving 29 Days Termination Notice in February

[two2twinface]

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: DE

I rented a room in Delaware for 525/month as a month to month renting. We had an agreement to have written notification of termination of 30 days. Each month starts on the 1st and ends at the end of the month. I notified my landlord on the 31st of Jan, emailed him on the 1st of Fed, and moved out on Feb 29th. He is now withholding my full security deposit of $525 for not notifying him within 30 days since this Feb only has 29 days. What should I do?

[Mr. Knowitall]

Normally the notice requirement is 60 days.

(a) No rental agreement, unless in writing, shall be effective for a longer term than 1 year.

(b) Where no term is expressly provided, a rental agreement for premises shall be deemed and construed to be for a month-to-month term.

(c) The landlord may terminate any rental agreement, other than month-to-month agreements, by giving a minimum of 60 days' written notice to the tenant prior to the expiration of the term of the rental agreement. The notice shall indicate that the agreement shall terminate upon its expiration date. A tenant may terminate a rental agreement by giving a minimum of 60 days' written notice prior to the expiration of the term of the rental agreement that the agreement shall terminate upon its expiration date.

(d) Where the term of the rental agreement is month-to-month, the landlord or tenant may terminate the rental agreement by giving the other party a minimum of 60 days' written notice, which 60-day period shall begin on the first day of the month following the day of actual notice.

(e) With regard to a tenant occupying a federally-subsidized housing unit, in the event of any conflict between the terms of this Code and the terms of any federal law, regulations or guidelines, the terms of the federal law, regulations or guidelines shall control.

If your lease modifies that, such that the notice period is 30 days, 29 is less than 30.

That said, if you paid for 29 days of tenancy, your landlord's "damage" would be for the one additional day - not the full security deposit. Small claims court awaits.