My fiance and I are getting ready to move into an apartment. We paid our landlord $425 for rent, plus a $200 security deposit on Friday the 25th. He said he would not give us the keys to the apartment until we had the utilities put in our name, so today I had them transferred. When I called him to notify him that we transferred the utilities, he mentioned that another $425 would be due again on May 1st. Is this fair? I didn't think rent would be due again until the 1st of June, since we haven't even moved in yet.
2008-04-28T13:26:22Z
We haven't signed the lease yet, all we've done is fill out the application and we gave him the rent and security deposit.
Q4U2008-04-28T13:28:44Z
Favorite Answer
Yes, your landlord sounds shady. Ask him what the $425 that is due on May 1st is for, because it can't be rent for May since you already paid it. Some landlords do ask for 1st and last months rent, plus security deposit. If that is the case, get it in writing that you did pay last months rent. Write checks, never pay cash, and get any agreement in writing. The thing that sounds really shady about him is that he wasn't up front about the move-in cost. He should have told you exactly how much you had to pay when you signed the lease and those figures should have been documented there.
---------- If you haven't signed a lease, you shouldn't have given him ANY money yet. How it works is when you go to sign the lease, then you write a check for the move-in amount. Then you get the keys on a preset date, and move in. What you are describing sounds like some sort of scam. If I were you, I would go and demand either my money back or the lease. Also, make sure the utilies aren't actually on yet, because if they are, then someone be be running them up under your name.
From what I understand you should not have to pay this $425 again until june 1st. If you and your landlord decided that your rent was going to be $425 and it is going to be due the 1st of each month then you should have prorated him for April instead of giving him $425 for the whole month of April. There are 30 days in April so you would divide your rent (425) by 30 days..that is $14.17 a day. You will be living in your apartment 5 days in the month of April so that means your rent for April should only be $70.85. And then from there you would pay $425 at the first of every month. I hope that makes sense.
It depends upon your lease and the purpose of the $425 you paid last week. Many leases require payment of first and last months' rent, so the $425 you paid last week might have been credited to your last months' rent. Thus, you may still owe the landlord $425 for May's rent. You should call the landlord for clarification. If I am correct, then at least you would have already paid the last month's rent.
Uh no your landlord needs to notify you as to when the commencement date is. Are you moving in on the 1st of may then you wouldnt pay rent again until June 1st and so forth each month thereafter didn't you sign a month to month agreement or a lease?
It depends because sometimes they will ask for "first and last months rent" upfront - then your last month you wouldn't have to pay rent. If that is what is going on here...make sure to get it in the lease. If he is trying to say that it is for just the last week of April then no way (WHEN YOU DIDN'T EVEN LIVE THERE!) - he is ripping you off and you should run away fast!