Is it legal to have a one year rental lease saying you moved in on March 7, 2008 and the lease ends on April 1, 2009?
by 
fayentn
ANSWERS: 7
-
Hi, Normally if your lease ends on 4/1/09 that means that your lease must have started on 4/1/08. You moved in close to a month before that lease start date. If it is a private lease, then you got close to a month of residency for free. If you have a rental subsidy such as Section 8 then you get to move in before the lease starts and your prorated rent from the time you move in until the actual lease start date will be covered. Thanks, Marisol.
-
Typically that's the way it's done. Your lease must state a start and end date so if that's what you signed, that's your lease.
-
Your question does not make sense. If your lease says that the term will be one year, and it states that is starts on March 7, 2008 and ends of April 1, 2009, then the lease is ambiguous. That does not make the lease illegal, however a court will have to deal with the ambiguity should there be a dispute. The court will do this by figuring out what was the intent of both parties to the contract. If both parties do not agree on the intent, then it will be interpreted against the drafter.
-
The landlord is probably just covering his ass in case anything happens during that period before April, 1. If you hurt yourself and are not technically living there, he could be liable. There are many reasons a landlord will want to document your exact day of residency. If you signed it, you're bound by it.
-
Dichosa was correct. That is a typical way leases are written. The term begins on the day you are given the keys and sign the lease and, as a one year lease, it will end the following year on either the first day of the month following the date it was signed or the last day of the month in which it was signed. As a previous leasing agent, we try to get people to move in the first of the month and so we can end the lease exactly one year later but it doesn't always work out that way. If you would have moved in March 1st 2008, the landlord probably would have used February 28,2009 as the end date. He or she wasn't trying to do anything underhanded in anyway.
-
Does fayentn anywhere in her question indicate that the lease specifically states "this is a one year lease"? She was probably just told it is a one year lease term. An agent can tell people it is a one year lease b/c basically it is, give or take a few days. But then you must explain to the leesee at the lease signing how the term is actually figured out for the purpose of paperwork and rent rolls. It's not that difficult. If they don't like how the lease is written, they don't have to sign it or rent from you. Before a person signs a binding contract, they should read it. If they sign it, they are indicating they read it and they accept the terms.
-
I've never heard of a strict 12 Month lease. If the agents are willing to set a date from 07/03/08 - 01/04/09, it is therefore a ~13 Month lease. It doesn't matter what the paper says, but the dates BOTH of you agreed to set for the lease. So if both of you signed the contract stating this duration, it is not illegal.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC