Lease Agreement Has Ended, but Landlord Says I'm Liable for the Year
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: NJ
I have been renting for over 2 years now and my lease agreement ended in August 2012.
There is no autorenewal mentioned in the contract just beginning and end date.
In the agreement, it states the LL needs to provide me a written notice to renew 30 days prior to the mature date and the provide a new lease contract.
This never happened.
in April 2012 I emailed the LL advising that end of lease if coming up and curious if he can reduce the rent if we stay contracted over 1 year but he rejected and provided a different amount. SO then i did not want to contract for a higher amount so i just agreed to his increase for the following year and in the email I advised him if I need to move out i will provide 2 months notice. After than, Sept. 2012 rolled and I just payed the increase monthly rent and he cashed it until present month January 2013. I now need to move and provide him actually over 85 days notice to help him.
As soon as I noticed him i needed to leave he wrote me an email stating " by law, I can hold you accountable for the rest of the year".
This is what flipped me. what law? In our original lease agreement a written new lease agreement should have been presented and from the statutes in NJ, it states if this did not occur it automatically turns into a month-to-month contract and only need a minimunm of 1 month notice.
Could someone shed some light if a friendly email with no specific "agreement" can be held liable for a "year contract".
I talked to some lawyers and they advised me I have nothing to worry about as it is a month-to-month since he did not provide a written new lease term and after the end of the lease, I paid rent and he cashed it thus him acknowledging a month-to-month agreement.
Please help me as now my LL is causing me and my pregnant wife uneasiness as we need to move back with our parents to help with our newborn due in the next 2 months.
Thank you
gcih21 @ gmail dot com
Re: Lease Agreement Has Ended. but
Quote:
Quoting
gcih21
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: NJ
I have been renting for over 2 years now and my lease agreement ended in August 2012.
There is no autorenewal mentioned in the contract just beginning and end date.
In the agreement, it states the LL needs to provide me a written notice to renew 30 days prior to the mature date and the provide a new lease contract.
This never happened.
in April 2012 I emailed the LL advising that end of lease if coming up and curious if he can reduce the rent if we stay contracted over 1 year but he rejected and provided a different amount. SO then i did not want to contract for a higher amount so i just agreed to his increase for the following year and in the email I advised him if I need to move out i will provide 2 months notice. After than, Sept. 2012 rolled and I just payed the increase monthly rent and he cashed it until present month January 2013. I now need to move and provide him actually over 85 days notice to help him.
As soon as I noticed him i needed to leave he wrote me an email stating " by law, I can hold you accountable for the rest of the year".
This is what flipped me. what law? In our original lease agreement a written new lease agreement should have been presented and from the statutes in NJ, it states if this did not occur it automatically turns into a month-to-month contract and only need a minimunm of 1 month notice.
Could someone shed some light if a friendly email with no specific "agreement" can be held liable for a "year contract".
I talked to some lawyers and they advised me I have nothing to worry about as it is a month-to-month since he did not provide a written new lease term and after the end of the lease, I paid rent and he cashed it thus him acknowledging a month-to-month agreement.
Please help me as now my LL is causing me and my pregnant wife uneasiness as we need to move back with our parents to help with our newborn due in the next 2 months.
Thank you
gcih21 @ gmail dot com
When no new lease was signed you became a month to month tenant. As long as you gave him sufficient notice he CANNOT hold you responsible for rent for the rest of the year.
Re: Lease Agreement Has Ended. but
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llworking
When no new lease was signed you because a month to month tenant. As long as you gave him sufficient notice he CANNOT hold you responsible for rent for the rest of the year.
Regardless of what an my email states?
Re: Lease Agreement Has Ended. but
I can't read what your email said from where I'm sitting. Help me out.
Re: Lease Agreement Has Ended. but
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gcih21
Regardless of what an my email states?
Quote the email, word for word. Although I don't see how an email can turn into a lease renewal.
Re: Lease Agreement Has Ended. but
"Ok $xxxx is agreed for another year. Thank you for negotiating with
what you can do. If I do decide to move out you will get a minimum 2months
ahead of time but I believe we will stay another year. "
this is where my LL states I agreed to contract for another year, but I just agreed on the price if I stay up to the year and put a clause that I might be leaving and will provide a 2 months notice ahead of time.
Re: Lease Agreement Has Ended. but
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gcih21
"Ok $xxxx is agreed for another year. Thank you for negotiating with
what you can do. If I do decide to move out you will get a minimum 2months
ahead of time but I believe we will stay another year. "
I don't think that constitutes a lease renewal at all.
Re: Lease Agreement Has Ended. but
thank you all for your opinions. It seems I could be right as well but just being bother my LL is not too smart and will try to sue me and I will have to waste my time and money to win a case I obviously will win.
Re: Lease Agreement Has Ended. but
I know an ambiguous email does not constitute as an official lease agreement but could someone reply with some similar experience and/or some law saying that a written agreement is official and not an email? (or something in that matter?)
Thank you
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Experts and experienced members, my LL advised me that our "email" is a contract based on the below information?
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2000/Bills/PL01/116_.PDF
http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/telecom/uniform-electronic-transactions-acts.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Electronic_Transactions_Act
Could someone enlighten me? I've read it but this might seem correct if we did not have a lease contract advising a written notice must be presented 30 days prior to end of lease which none was sent to me.
Please help, thank you
Re: Lease Agreement Has Ended. but
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gcih21
I know an ambiguous email does not constitute as an official lease agreement
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I don't know that at all, in NJ leases can be either written or oral, if an ambiguous email is all you have, then that's what constitutes the lease agreement.
Yes, some "written" contracts can be drafted and signed electronically, including through email. I didn't read any of the links your landlord gave in detail, but I don't think it changes anything that anyone told you above. Your interpretation of the agreement you had was not that you were renewing the lease, but that you were agreeing to a rent increase, with a provision that you could move out with 60 days notice. Based on what you posted, that interpretation seems reasonable, and the landlords contention that you were agreeing to renew the lease at a higher rent while incorporating all other terms and conditions of the previous lease seems to be a much less reasonable interpretation of that email.