landlord/tenant Q&A

LAURENE H. YOUNG, (B) MPM, RMP, REALTOR
Young Hawaii Homes, Inc.
2011 President, Oahu Chapter
National Association of Residential Property Managers

Q. I wanted to end my lease a month early since I had bought a place. My landlord told me that he was going to charge me a fee, and later told me he found a new renter for that last month. I quickly moved out, cleaned the unit and was out by the end of the month and went to stay at my mom’s house for a few weeks since I hadn’t closed on my new place yet. However, when I received my security deposit back, the landlord had deducted half a month’s rent. He said that the new tenant decided not to move in until the 15th of the month so he charged me for that time, even though he had told me the new tenant was moving in on the first of the month! If I had known that, I could have stayed for a few more weeks.

What recourse do I have? That just doesn’t seem fair.

Should I drive by the house to make sure the other tenants didn’t move in?

A. Because you were relying on the landlord’s statement that the new tenant was moving in on the first of the month, I think you did the right thing by moving out quickly and it sounds like you returned the unit in a clean and undamaged condition. Your recourse would be to go to court, but it could be difficult to prove. The landlord may say he never told you that you were released from the lease when you moved out. Unless you had proof that he had a history of doing this with other tenants or had other witnesses, it might not be worth your time to pursue this.

The Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), Chapter 521-70, Section (d) states, “If the tenant wrongfully quits the dwelling unit and unequivocally indicates by words or deeds the tenant’s intention not to resume the tenancy, the tenant shall be liable to the landlord for the lesser of the following amounts for such abandonment: (1) The entire rent due for the remainder of the term; or (2) All rent accrued during the period reasonably necessary to re-rent the dwelling unit at the fair rental, plus the difference between such fair rent and the rent agreed to in the prior rental agreement and a reasonable commission for the renting of the dwelling unit.”

If you have some type of documentation (an email or letter) that the landlord said he had found a tenant from the first of the month and was letting you out of the lease early, you have a better chance in court.

In this case, you were fortunate that the landlord was able to get the unit re-rented so quickly at the same rental amount. If the fair market rent now had been lower than what you paid, you would have been responsible for the difference in the rents for that one month. Also, you would be responsible for the fee stated in your rental agreement for re-renting the unit before your lease was up. Even if the landlord didn’t charge the fees in the original deduction, if you go to court, the judge may say that he was owed that. Subtract those amounts from that half a month’s rent that the landlord charged you and decide if it’s worth it for you to go to court to try to recover the balance. You would have filing fees, sheriff’s fees to serve the landlord and of course your time off from work to go to court.

Landlords are prohibited from collecting double rent from two separate parties covering the same rental period. If you do drive by the house and see that someone has moved in before the 15th of the month, document the date that you saw the new tenants and have an independent witness (possibly a neighbor) who can verify the date that they moved in. You can take pictures but be very careful as some people are very sensitive about that.

Landlords should avoid telling an early vacating tenant that they have a new tenant and are letting them out of their lease until they have a new signed lease with those new tenants and have collected the security deposit. The vacating tenant should be liable for the rent only until the new lease is signed. After that time, the new tenant is responsible for the lease and if they then decide to move in a few weeks later, they are still obligated from the beginning of the lease.