Renter moving out in 17 days still needs to pay for 30

Question: After having lived here for two years, I have found a new apartment and am moving out in 17 days. I called the owner and asked him if I could use my security deposit to pay for the last 17 days that I would be living in the apartment. He said no but that I could pay the 17 days’ rent on a prorated basis.

My concern is that although I just wrote out a check for the prorated rent, they will take the last 13 days’ rent out of my security deposit. Can I do anything to save that? Is it legal for them to allow me to pay a prorated amount of rent and never mention taking the rest of the month out of my security deposit?

Answer: Renters are required under state law to give rental owners a 30-day written notice of their intent to vacate rental units. Apparently, you are giving only 17 days’ notice.

There is no way to “save” the other 13 days of rent. The way to have done that would have been to give the owners notice of your intent to vacate 30 days before the fact.

It sounds as if they are trying to help you get into your new apartment by not requiring you to pay the entire month’s rent on the rent due date, thus giving you more cash to move into the new apartment and then taking the balance of the rent out of your security deposit. This is a mistake on their part.

Since they have allowed you this accommodation, you now wonder if you owe the full 30 days’ rent. You do. If they had required you to pay the entire month’s rent up front, this question never would have come up.

Expenses include questionable ‘fees’

Question: When I moved into my apartment, I paid the following move-in expenses: $1,800 first month’s rent, $1,000 security deposit, $500 pet fee, $300 premises preparation charge and $50 deposit for a garage-door remote control. I would like to use these fees and deposits to pay my last month’s rent when I move out because I don’t trust large management companies when it comes to refunding security deposits. Can I do this?

Answer: You cannot use security deposits to pay rent unless specifically authorized to do so by the management or owner. You must pay the rent and deal with the deposit money later.

All of the money you have deposited, other than the first month’s rent, is in the form of refundable deposits. However, by the way the lease has identified some of the deposits, it doesn’t sound as if the management company is aware of this.

The identification of the pet deposit as a pet fee is erroneous. It is a fully refundable pet deposit. That, of course, assumes that the pet does no damage. Similarly, in California there is no such thing as a “premises preparation charge,” which sounds like a nonrefundable cleaning charge.

Like the pet deposit, this deposit is fully refundable, assuming there are no damages that exceed “normal wear and tear” and the unit is as clean when you move out as it was when you moved in.

Roomies need to settle deposit issue

Question: My roommate is moving out. When she asked the landlord about her portion of the security deposit, he told her that she would have to get it from me. She didn’t give it to me so why am I responsible for refunding it?

Answer: The landlord is not responsible for the deposit at this time because deposits go with tenancies and not with individual tenants. Since you will be staying in the apartment and getting a new roommate (with the owner’s consent), the tenancy continues.

One solution to this problem, assuming there are no damages, is for you to collect a security deposit from your new roommate and refund it to the tenant who is moving out.

Then execute a new rental agreement with the landlord reflecting the current tenants and deposits.

Postema is the editor of Apartment Age magazine, a publication of AAGLA, an apartment owners’ service group. E-mail your questions on any aspect of apartment living to AptlifeAAGLA@aol.com, c/o Kevin Postema, or mail to AAGLA, c/o Kevin Postema, 621 S. Westmoreland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90005.