Landlord leased my apartment before I moved out!

Question

I am currently on a six month lease which expires at the end of August. I have not been living in the apartment full-time but have been paying rent as per my lease agreement. I informed my landlord earlier this week that I would not be renewing my lease and was giving him 30 days notice.

He stated that this was fine and that I would need to clean the place out. He had someone interested in the apartment. I go to clean out the apartment this weekend and the new tenant had already moved in! I still had personal belongings in the apartment which I am afraid I will not have returned.

Rent for the final month is due on Monday, but I am reluctant to pay since the landlord techically broke my lease and re-leased the apartment out from under me. Am I required to pay? Further, I am still owed a deposit, which I expect returned.

Do I have anything to worry about here? I feel like my landlord broke the law and hopefully will cut me a check quietly to end this matter, but I cannot know anything more for sure until Monday. What do you think?

Answer 1

Contact a local attorney.  Their are many things going on here that need attention.

Answer 2

I think that the landlord is a sleazeball. He didn't have the right to lease your apartment before the end of your lease, and just like a tenant who doesn't fulfill his end of the contract is penalized, there are also consequences for the landlord.

  Should you decide to push it, the landlord can be forced to pay a penalty for having broken the lease. If, for example, you had arranged for driends to ove you at the end of August, and due to the circumstances you now have to hire movers, the entire cost of the moving crew would be the landlord's responsibility.

Answer 3

Your land lord did break the law.  Tell the new tenants that it is still your place because you are still paying rent.  And show them a lease.  They probably didnt know anything about this.  This will get them to try to break off their lease with the land lord.  They would pobably be successful because they cannot move into their new place.  So the land lord will be forced to break that lease with them.  And they can still sue him.  On your side, you can sue him as well, for breach of contract.  And if anything is missing, you can sue the land lord for it.  And to be honest...."find something missing"...This is my advice because sometimes you sue for a couple of counts of wrongful acts, but you dont win them all.....