Question & Answer #61: Rental deposit issues I rented a condominium on a three month contract. I paid two months rent as a deposit. I gave the required one month notice that I intended to leave at the end of the rental contract. In my notice I proposed that the landlord retain the last months rent from the security deposit. The landlord acknowledged receiving my notice, but did not respond one way or another to my proposal. In the middle of the last month, I sent another email notifying the landlord that I would be leaving before the end of the month, should she wish to show the condo to prospective renters or enter to do cleaning and maintenance. I said that since I had not heard from her about my proposal concerning withholding the last months rent from the security deposit, I assumed that it met with her approval. Her reply was that the proposal was unusual, but she did not agree to or object to it. I sent another email asking, among other things, for her to respond directly to this question and I have had no response to date. My questions are these: does this amount to a breach of my contractual obligation to pay the rent each month? Does her failure to respond initially or subsequently, indicate that she has implicitly agreed to it? how long can she withhold the balance of my security deposit before returning it? _____________________________ Technically, as the agreement states a monthly rental then you are obliged to pay that monthly, usually in advance. The security deposit is a separate issue and should be returned when the contract has ended and there are no issues like damage or unpaid utility bills etc. As the landlord has not agreed to your suggestion, then it should be taken that your suggestion has not been accepted.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 08:26:52 +0000