At least 60 days’ notice to end of rental period is required to terminate tenancy
Q: On Aug. 15, I gave my landlord written notice that I would be ending my tenancy on Sept. 30. (I am on a month to month lease.) My landlord wrote back to me saying:
“Your notice is not the length required by the Residential Tenancies Act. However, relying on your notice, I will attempt to re-rent the apartment at Oct. 1. If I succeed, that will be the end of the matter, and I will use your deposit for last month’s rent for September. If I cannot rent the apartment for Oct. 1, I will try to rent the apartment as soon as I can, and I will look to you for the rent for the period during which the apartment remains unrented through
Oct. 31.”
A couple of days later, my landlord asked me to sign an agreement to terminate on Sept 30. He wouldn’t tell me why and I refused to sign. He was really annoyed. Now my landlord wants the rent for September, even though I paid the last month’s rent when I moved in. Do I need to pay that money? What should I do now?
A: Your landlord was correct in indicating that your notice was short. To properly terminate your tenancy, the Residential Tenancies Act (“RTA”) requires at least 60 days’ notice to the end of a rental period. You only provided 46 days’ notice. The end of a rental period for a month to month lease is typically the last day of the month.
The RTA provides that if a tenant vacates after giving short notice, the tenant is responsible to pay rent until the earliest date for which proper notice could have been given on the day the short notice was given. In your case, that would mean you are likely on the hook for rent through Oct. 31. If you had signed the agreement to terminate effective Sept. 30, that would have taken you off the hook.
However, the RTA also requires landlords to attempt to mitigate the loss suffered when receiving short notice by re-renting the rental unit as soon as possible. Your landlord’s letter said that he was going to do that.
It is unfortunate that your landlord did not tell you why he wanted the agreement. It is possible that your landlord fears that, after telling you that you may be responsible for paying rent for October, you may decide to stay in the unit during the month of October. Your landlord may well have had a new tenant ready to rent the unit on Oct. 1, but the landlord wanted it to be crystal clear that the apartment would be empty and ready for the new tenant, to avoid having two tenants for the same rental unit for October.
What you should do now is to contact your landlord immediately, and tell him that you will sign the agreement to terminate. Hopefully, that will enable him to rent the unit at Oct. 1. If he succeeds in doing that, then your last month’s rent will pay for September, and you will not need to pay more. However, if your landlord can only rent for Oct. 15, then you will need to pay for the 15 days the unit will be vacant.