One Year Lease with 13 Months of Tenancy in the Agreement

[ga2015]

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

Hi,

I currenty have a one year lease commencing on July 7, 2011. I paid the full months rent upon move in, then paid a pro rated amount on August 7th, and then full amount on September 1st. Based on my understanding of a one year lease, I believe that the agreement should expire June 30th, but my lease the agreement says that it expires July 31st, 2012. This would make it 13 months of tenancy. The amount on the rental agreement also totals up to 12 months of the full rent and one month of the pro rated payment. Is this just a clerical error? could I still move out on June 30th as I have been planning or will I be stuck paying for 13 months of tenancy?

Thanks for the help.

[Mr. Knowitall]

There's no inherent reason that a lease term has to be exactly one year. The lease term is what it is. If the rent is defined for the entire lease term then divided into monthly installments, there's nothing wrong with that, either - although if the lease is for thirteen months and the rent is for that entire lease term it should be divided by 13, not 12. If the rent is stated as an annual amount, even if the lease is for thirteen months, dividing by 12 would be appropriate to determine the monthly rent.

You really need to read your lease - we have no access to it and thus cannot interpret it for you.