Landlord has new tenant moving in while apartment still under lease to me. Double dipping?

In My Humble Opinion
1

The landlord to the apartment I had moved out of last week has a tenant that is moving in today. The apartment is under lease and paid for to me until the end of the month, July 31 (today is July 26). I had yet to return the keys to the apartment to the landlord, and when I asked the landlord when he would like to do a final walk-thru, he informed me that it was 'unnecessary.

Today I went to the apartment because I had a shovel in the basement that I had forgotten, and at that time I met the new tenant who happened to have a moving truck out front and was moving her stuff in. She told me that she is living there starting today. I was pretty surprised by this being that the landlord never informed me that the new tenant would be moving in six days early, while the apartment is still under lease to me.

I asked the new tenant if the landlord charged her for the 6 days for this month, and she said yes had charged her for the 6 remaining days in the month. So not only did the landlord let someone move in a week early while the apartment is still under lease to me, but he also charged her for it.

I’m furious over this because I know that the landlord has no intent to return me pro-rated rent for 6 days, and it just happened to be a coincidence that I found out about the new tenant moving in so early.

I never really had a good relation with this landlord. When the pipe to the kitchen sink literally fell off the bottom of the sink, I was without a functional kitchen sink for almost two weeks. When I moved in one of the windows was broken and couldn’t open, and he took months to repair it after numerous inquires (he said he was going to fix is before we moved in). In the winter, he would turn the heat off after 10pm so the apartment would be freezing at night (one night it was 58 in there!). I had always paid rent on time and was never a nuisance to anyone in the building. He even wrote a great reference to my new landlord.

A part of me wants to stick it to him and be a total a-hole about this, and hit him hard legally. I’m talking go there tonight, enter the apartment, bring a air mattress, and sleep there with the new tenant there. Have the police involved so it’s well documented, and hit him hard in court for doing this.

So my question is this to everyone… What would you do, and what exactly are my options?

Sidenote: When I moved into the apartment last year, we agreed to an April 15 move-in date for 1/2 month rent. I had later told the landlord I wanted to move-in April 12 because of my work schedule, and he had charged me the extra 3 days pro-rated. So it’s only fitting to do the same back to him, right?

2

I agree that the landlord was wrong to rent the place before your lease was up, especially since you had not returned the keys and told him you were gone, right? I had this happen to me once, but worse. My husband and I were moving stuff in batches rather than rent a big truck, and the asshole landlords decided we were gone and THREW OUT all the stuff that was still there. Books, music, clothes, art, personal items, and they let out our cat who was still there with food and water and litter, and we never found her.

But I don’t know that you can do much without upsetting the new tenant, and they haven’t done anything to deserve that. I would, however, let the new tenant know about the problems you had. Maybe it’s not too late for them to get out of their lease?

3

I’m always shocked at the audacity of some people. I’m a lot more cool headed in 2015 than I was when I was say, 25 or even 35. But at 25 given the person I was then (and I’m not necessarily happy with who I was then) the landlord who did that would be beaten probably within an inch of death, and depending on how badly I got into the anger he may have actually been killed. Luckily people generally never messed with me to that point though, I was in bar scrapes and had people screw me at times, but never someone like that or someone I could’ve easily gone after right afterward.

4

Given the situation I’d probably just let it go, it’s no loss to you, you were going to have to pay to the end of the month regardless.

If you want to make an issue of it, the person most impacted is going to end up being the new tenant.

A minimal effort approach is to send a demand letter for payment, if he pays bonus.

5

I’d agree with that, just walk away. But I like the idea of sending a letter to them. Perhaps demanding the pro-rated rent back, but also letting them know that you’re aware that new tenants have already moved in, before a pre-moveout inspection was done with you present. I’d go on to say something like “since no inspection was done, I assume I’ll be receiving my full security deposit back within X* days”.
If you really want to put fear into him, start it out with "I know we had some issues at the beginning (and list them), but I continued to pay rent the entire time blah blah blah and end it with “please call me when you get this so I can let you know where to send the check or you can tell me when it’s ready to pick it up”.

If you don’t hear from him around day 14 (if it’s 21 days), send it again, certified, return receipt and at the bottom put CC:[your city] Housing Authority and send them a copy as well. If you do this, don’t mention the day you ‘moved out’, just mention that you stopped by today and found new tenants there.

Basically, all this is is documenting. Like I said at the beginning I’d move on WRT to the rent, but I’d be worried about the deposit, start documenting. Every phone call, every email, keep a log. If you don’t have a check in your hand a few days after his time expires, take him to court, if you need to take him to court, sending this letter will help. OTOH, with all that crap at the beginning, if you send him a letter like that, he might cave quickly if it looks like you’re getting ready to take him to court or report him to the authorities.

*Check the law in your state, for example IIRC, in my state it’s 21 days or you can sue them for double.

6

I would tell the landlord that this is exactly what I am going to do, starting tomorrow, unless he refunds you your pro-rated rent money. Then I’d do it. The unit is yours to do with what you want until the end of your term.

7

Send him a letter, certified, delivery receipt requested. State that since he had a new tenant move in before your lease was up, without a walk through, you therefore believe that there are no issues and that you expect the return of your full deposit within the period mandated by law.

Note at the bottom that you are cc:ing yourself and the city housing authority/rental board/whomever governs rental law in your city. Then make sure you send it to everyone.

I do not know what state you are in but in both states where I have been a landlord, this situation would be absolutely illegal.

Act without reproach yourself. If it comes down to Legal action, be the one who’s absolutely the one in the right, not one of a pair of assholes.

8

I can top that. I was living in an apartment and was moving to another town. I had found a new apartment but because the two towns were some distance apart, moving was slow. But I figured I was paying the rent on the old place so no big deal - I would move it when I got a chance.

Then I drove up to the old apartment and found my landlord had changed the locks. My lease said that my rent was due on the 15th of each month. But he unilaterally decided to move the due date to the first - and inform me by leaving a notice at the old apartment where I didn’t live and wouldn’t see it.

So when I didn’t pay my rent on my new due date, he changed all the locks and locked me out of my apartment. Then he moved all of my property out of the apartment and into a storage unit he owned. Then he told me I’d have to pay for the storage of my property plus the cost of him moving it plus the cost of changing the locks.

I told him I still had a signed lease which said my rent was due on the 15th which should have made everything he had done moot. In fact, I probably could have charged him with theft. He then told me that I could take him to court - but he reminded me that the DA was his brother and the mayor was his cousin and that he himself was a lawyer.

And now to get back on topic. My advice to the OP is to let it go. You weren’t planning on staying in the apartment during those days so what did you lose? The landlord took something that was technically yours but you didn’t want - it was the equivalent of somebody stealing something out of your garbage can. If you make an issue out of this, the new tenant is the one who gets screwed and they didn’t do anything.

9

You must have notified the landlord that you were moving out on x date, otherwise he wouldn’t have known that the place would be vacant early. If that’s the case, then I’m really not sure what you’re so upset about.

10

This is a good opportunity to pick your battles.

11

In my experience, once someone new moves in, I get to stop paying rent. So if I moved out early and he moved someone new in, the landlord doesn’t get rent from both of us.

12

The OP should not trust the landlord about no walk through being needed. Send the letter as suggested or get something in writing that there were no problems affecting return of the security deposit.

13

No purpose of a walk-thru now. The new tenant is moved in now. Any damages can’t be proven to me, but there are no damages anyway.

14

The lease to my current place began on July 15 and he knew I was moving most of my stuff out last weekend July 19. This past Saturday he asked me if all of my stuff is out of the place and I said yes, and he said ‘ok because the new tenant is moving in tomorrow’.

15

That’s too much. I’d rather just meet with him later today as planned, get my security back in my hand, and once that’s in my hand, tell him what about the 6 days he is charging the new tenant. If he gives it to me, then good. If he doesn’t, then I’ll just proceed to walk right into the apartment and go take a dump in the toilet, make myself some lunch, and go take a nap; whether the new tenant is home or not. That will surely get him to do me right.

16

Good heavens, don’t do the last thing on your list. The new tenant has a lease. He has the right to private enjoyment of the apartment. Don’t give him cause to take you to court.

I say get the deposit back, let the check clear, then take him to small claims court.

17

that’s my plan… i’m gonna be a gangster on this. i’m sure he doesn’t want the new tenant to just have someone legally walk right into her new place either… that would be a bad start.

18

How much does small claims court cost where you live? Is 6 days’ rent worth the paperwork and time? Misbehaving landlords can be lucrative.

19

$20

20

It’s not worth a substantial amount of time and effort, but it’s certainly worth a certified letter to the landlord.

After all, (a) you’d like to get all of your deposit back, and since the new tenant was able to move in while the place was still officially yours, there should be no claims against the deposit.

And (b) what six days’ rent amounts to depends on what the rent was, but if you were paying $1000/month, that’s still a couple hundred bucks. A couple hundred bucks is worth a letter.

So send the letter, and if you at least get your deposit back in its entirety, call it close enough, and leave it at that. If the landlord decides to be a jerk and keeps a chunk of your deposit, take him to small claims court for the deposit and the rent.

ETA: I’d leave the new tenant out of it, and wouldn’t try to stay there while he’s there, or anything like that. The new guy hasn’t done anything to deserve being hassled.