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What are my rights if I am renting a room in an apartment?
Anonymous6 views2 answers
I am currently renting a room from a couple and I'm moving out less than halfway through the month, but I already paid the rent for this whole month. I am wondering what my rights are as a tenant and if they need to pay me back for the money I am owed. I asked for a couple more days as my new apartment won't be ready yet, and they are telling me someone else is coming to see the room. But technically, that would mean that the next person to live there would get their first month rent-free. Would it be in my legal rights to ask for half of the rent I paid this month? Especially since they aren't allowing me 2 extra days although I paid for the entire month. Also, they had told me rent was split evenly amongst both bedrooms. ($300 each) and now I have found out that they have been charging me $50 extra, that way they would pay less. I wouldn't mind that if she had told me from the beginning, rather than just charge me extra. I just find it unfair because her boyfriend and her both don't have jobs and they are living off of unemployment. I just need some answers as to what my rights are and if its legal for me to demand the money I paid. I just don't want to lose almost $400, I'm only 19.
You are essentially a tenant as any other tenant. You don't say what notice you gave of your intent to move out, or how their intended termination date relates to the date to which you have paid rent. Basically, you are responsible for rent until the termination date specified in a properly given notice of termination of tenancy, and you are also entitled to stay until the end of that period. If they want early possession, it strikes me that you are entitled to a refund of rent for the period after the date they want possession. Since they can't physically force you out, you should be in a position to negotiate with them.
Your agreement is your agreement. It doesn't matter if your landlords charge you more for your room than they pay for their room. McDonalds charges you more for your burger than they pay for it - that's often how things work.
If the landlord owes you any money (in the form of prepaid rent or security deposit), they have 31 days to either personally hand you, or mail to you, the money that they owe you. If they don't do this within 31 days, the amount that they owed you doubles.
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