60 Days Notice Given Orally

Have a lease in Arlington Virginia from a Lessor that leases only one house (so VRLTA doesn't apply). Lease requires 60 days written notice of intention not to renew lease. I discussed extending the lease but he said no - that I would have to move out on the expiration of the lease.

THe lease expires in a couple days and lessor is asking for 60 days of rent because i gave no written notice. Do I have to pay it? The lessor was well aware that I was leaving on this date and even rejected my attempt to extend the lease. Can my oral agreement/discussion with him consititute sufficient notice?

not if the lease specifically requires written notice. he could accept the oral notice if he so chose, but he is not required to.

But this doesn't really seem like a material breach. Seriously - what's the remedy here? The purpose of the requirement is to give the landlord enough heads up to get another tenant. So the purpose was clearly fulfilled, just not in the manner specified by the lease. Can a landlord really charge somebody several thousand dollars for such an insignificant breach? Especially when the landlord was adamant that I not stay a day after the expiration of the lease. Isn't the purpose of contract law to make people whole? This sounds like a windfall. Seriously, where's the harm?

It sounds like it was the landlord who required that the tenant move at the end of the lease ("I discussed extending the lease but he said no"), and thus the landlord's obligation to give proper notice terminating the tenancy.

that's my thought. i would think that a landlord's notice that he will end the tenancy upon expiration of the lease precludes my having to give any sort of notice.