# Landlord has new tenant moving in while apartment still under lease to me. Double dipping? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 27, 2015, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-has-new-tenant-moving-in-while-apartment-still-under-lease-to-me-double-dipping/726288 "2015-07-27T02:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-has-new-tenant-moving-in-while-apartment-still-under-lease-to-me-double-dipping/726288/61 "2015-07-28T17:58:10Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I don’t think the OP had ANY intention of “screwing” the new tenant. No, but he didn’t care not to. He didn’t even think of it. There are, however, several posters actively supporting being a serious dick to the new tenant, probably beyond the bounds of legality. > [@](#): > > All he ever said was: He objects to the landlord collecting rent from two different people for that six days, and he wants his six days’ rent back. And there’s an argument that the \*new \*tenant is the one getting screwed, not him. > [@](#): > > It’s a clear-cut case, in California at least, no matter what **ElvisL1ves** thinks: If a tenant moves out early (like, middle of last month) without an agreement from the landlord, then he is liable for rent for the whole month **BUT** the landlord has the option to move a new tenant in anytime after old tenant leaves That’s what I said. :dubious: > [@](#): > > (I read it in a Nolo book.) Good for you., ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-has-new-tenant-moving-in-while-apartment-still-under-lease-to-me-double-dipping/726288/62 "2015-07-28T18:56:02Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > No, but he didn’t care not to. He didn’t even think of it. There are, however, several posters actively supporting being a serious dick to the new tenant, probably beyond the bounds of legality. > > And there’s an argument that the \*new \*tenant is the one getting screwed, not him. I must have missed that. Can somebody help me here? How was the new tenant going to get screwed, whether OP meant it or not? Did old tenant suggest that new tenant, having already moved in, should be kicked out? All I saw was that old tenant wants his last six days rent back. How does that screw the new tenant? Did I miss something in this thread? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-has-new-tenant-moving-in-while-apartment-still-under-lease-to-me-double-dipping/726288/63 "2015-07-28T19:13:15Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > How was the new tenant going to get screwed, whether OP meant it or not? By paying for something that someone else had already paid for. > [@](#): > > Did old tenant suggest that new tenant, having already moved in, should be kicked out? No, but several posters have suggested as much. > [@](#): > > Did I miss something in this thread? Yes, the reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-has-new-tenant-moving-in-while-apartment-still-under-lease-to-me-double-dipping/726288/64 "2015-07-28T19:41:37Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > By paying for something that someone else had already paid for. > > No, but several posters have suggested as much. > > Yes, the reasoning. No one has suggested kicking out the new tenant. The **OP** had some strange plan to move in with the tenant, and I and a few other posters suggested that if you find out ahead of time that the landlord is planning on letting a new tenant in before the lease is up, changing your move-out date until the last day of the lease as a bargaining chip to get him to pro-rate your rent. But no one said to kick out the new tenant after he’s moved in. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-has-new-tenant-moving-in-while-apartment-still-under-lease-to-me-double-dipping/726288/65 "2015-07-29T00:16:55Z")
I still don’t know if the landlord selected the date because he SAW the OPer move out, or because the OPer said, “I’m moving out on the 18th.” IMO, there is a big difference in ethics there. In the first scenario, the landlord was completely out of line and could be in trouble for entering the tenant’s premises without permission. In the second scenario, I’m still not seeing any harm to the tenant. Nonetheless, if the tenant didn’t cause damage, then the landlord was being a jerk by bringing up a broken lock, which may or may not have been fictitious. Seems awfully convenient to say, “Yeah, I owe you for those 6 days, however you’re not getting it because (insert made up damage).” I hate when landlords use security deposits as extra income. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-has-new-tenant-moving-in-while-apartment-still-under-lease-to-me-double-dipping/726288/66 "2015-07-29T19:09:30Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > 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. > [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > I drank far too much and was extremely rash in that period of my life. To be frank I’m surprised that 1) I was able to maintain my career during this time and 2) that I never ended up in prison. I committed some crimes, but luckily nothing so serious that it ever came back on me. Like I said, not proud of it, but if I came home and someone had set my pet loose and thrown all my shit away c. 1990 or so I’m not sure I’d be able to get a hold of my emotions before I did something extremely rash. > > As a point of reference me and a friend were walking down the street once and a guy ran past me and pulled a gold necklace off my neck, ripping it off, and kept running. We both chased after him, my friend was faster than me (he was a short but stocky Italian kid from New York who was a running back in college) and caught up to him first, when I arrived we both basically beat the guy into a pulp. Given the time/place, the two of us (two white guys, both officers in the military) and the thief (shady / probably homeless black guy) the police just picked the guy up and threw him into the back of their car and drove off, but in theory they could’ve charged us with assault. Watch out! We got a badass over here. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-has-new-tenant-moving-in-while-apartment-still-under-lease-to-me-double-dipping/726288/67 "2015-07-31T14:24:50Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Except that would be seriously dickish to the (innocent) new tenant, far more so than to the landlord. Why make the situation so much worse than it needs to be? > > You’re moving out anyway. Why even care about what happens afterward? I guess I’m missing the outrage as well. What do you care? You’re out, when you wanted to be out. Someone else wanted to be in. They are in when they wanted to be in. The owner wanted to make money. He’s making money. Could the owner give you some cash back? I supposed. But I don’t see that he’s a dick if he doesn’t. Say I rent a car for a week at the weekly rate. I return it early. I don’t get any money back. Is Avis supposed to keep the car on the lot unrented for the remainder of the week? Of course not. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-has-new-tenant-moving-in-while-apartment-still-under-lease-to-me-double-dipping/726288/68 "2015-07-31T14:47:37Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > Say I rent a car for a week at the weekly rate. I return it early. I don’t get any money back. Is Avis supposed to keep the car on the lot unrented for the remainder of the week? Of course not. An apartment is not a car, and the OP did not indicate his willingness to waive his rights under the remaining portion of the lease. If he had returned the keys, that would be one thing, but he didn’t. He’s not harmed, but I don’t see anything wrong with standing on principle. He had a valid lease which was breached by the landlord. That is not to say I endorse any of the “self help” strategies suggested, which were all pretty stupid. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-has-new-tenant-moving-in-while-apartment-still-under-lease-to-me-double-dipping/726288/69 "2015-07-31T15:10:27Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > An apartment is not a car Thanks for clearing that up for me, I had no idea. . . I’m not hard over either way. But the walk though is always the last thing. So he spent some period of time moving out, and when he was done (save for the shovel) he ask when the walk though was. When the owner said, “no problem we’re good,” it appeared like he was effectively moved out. The owner felt that way as well. Seems to me like the OP is just generally pissed at the guy, and wants to continue to carry that anger with him. Especially as I get older, that just doesn’t seem like a good plan. I guess my outrage meter doesn’t peg as quickly as many here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/landlord-has-new-tenant-moving-in-while-apartment-still-under-lease-to-me-double-dipping/726288.md?page=3)