Expert: Timmy Chou - 6/27/2010

Question
I have a 12 month lease that ends on august 31st, 2010.

I wanted to move out early so the landlord found someone to move in on a new 12 month lease starting August 20th.

The landlord requested me to move out by August 15th and asked me to surrender my keys at that time. However, the landlord wants to charge me rent for an additional 4 days, during which she wants to have the apartment cleaned for the new tenants.

Essentially, I would be paying rent from August 1-19th, even though I have to give her my keys by the 15th.

Is this legal for her to charge me rent after I have surrendered my keys on the grounds of apartment cleaning?

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Also, August 15th is a sunday, and she only does the final walk through monday through friday. This actually means I would have to give her my keys on August 13th and be charged through August 19th.

All/any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time!

Answer
Thank you for your question!

As I always advise questioners, mediators act as neutral third parties to disputes and never "get involved" in judging the merits of conflict, but merely use special techniques to help the parties decide how to negotiate their own settlement.

I am not an attorney and cannot give you legal advice but can respond from my management and consulting experience.  Note that this issue may certainly have legal ramifications and you may wish to consult an attorney.

To determine what is permissible you would have to consult your rental agreement document.  Even if it is not permitted, often people know that your only recourse is to file a lawsuit and try to get a court to enforce the agreement -- which is expensive and lengthy.  

You may wish to try to contact renter advocacy groups in your area or the consumer protection office of your state.  Absent some help like this you would have to go to court.  Small Claims court is fairly cheap and fast as an option.

These are some ideas.  Feel free to follow up with additional questions.

For your general information, the pros and cons of the types of dispute resolution methods follows.

GOOD LUCK!

Arbitration, Mediation, and Litigation

Arbitration: the referral of a dispute to one or more impartial persons for final and binding determination outside of the judicial system

Benefits of Arbitration:

 Confidential, no public record
 Limited exchange of documentation, information
 Quick, don't have to wait for a court date
 Arbitrators have expertise in the subject matter and are trained in conflict resolution
 Cheaper than litigation
 Preserves business relationships

Negatives of Arbitration

 It's often a compromise, no 100% winner
 Complex arbitration can be costly
 If not satisfied, may litigate the arbitration procedure
 Poor results with an unskilled arbitrator
 Both parties must agree to cooperate in the process

Mediation: the process by which parties submit their dispute to a neutral third party (the mediator) who works with the parties to reach a settlement of their dispute.

Benefits of Mediation:

 Neutral mediator can objectively suggest alternatives not considered before
 Parties are directly engaged in negotiating the settlement
 Can be quicker than litigation
 Less costly than litigation
 Preserves business relationships
 85% of American Arbitration Association cases mediated find successful solutions

Negatives of Mediation

 may not reach a binding decision
 unskilled mediator

Litigation: using the judicial system to resolve disputes

Benefits of litigation:

 a clear winner and loser
 uses a prescribed set of procedures
 more predictable outcomes
 is final

Negatives of Litigation:

 waiting for court dates can do more harm
 usually more expensive than mediation and arbitration
 part of the public record