Tenant wants out of short-term lease

Question: Our lease expired about a year ago, so we're on a month-to-month lease. How much notice do I have to give before moving? Can I request a move-out date in less than 30-day increments and pay a prorated portion of the rent?

Answer: From Legal Aid's housing attorneys, with the assistance of paralegal Tatjana Johnson: A tenant on a month-to-month lease needs to give his landlord a 28-day notice to terminate tenancy. You are a month-to-month tenant if you had a fixed lease that expired and you and the landlord agreed to transfer the lease to month-to-month, or if more than 60 days have passed since the lease expired and the landlord has not filed for summary possession in District Court in order to evict you.

Your notice to the landlord needs to be in writing and should specify the date you will move, which must be at least 28 calendar days from the day the landlord receives the notice. You're responsible for rent for all 28 days. The notice doesn't have to be given on the first, and your tenancy does not have to terminate at the end of the month. For example, you may give your landlord notice on May 13 to terminate your tenancy on June 10. In this scenario, you would need to pay all of May's rent and pay the prorated rent for June. To figure out what you owe, divide your rent by the number of days in June and multiply that number by 10 (the number of days you're renting in June). If your landlord finds a replacement tenant and/or you want to move out sooner, you and your landlord can agree to a shortened time. All agreements should be in writing to protect both parties.

Finally, if you remain after the 28-day termination date, your landlord could sue you for summary possession and charge you holdover rent. Holdover rent is calculated by charging prorated rent on a daily basis at a rate of twice the monthly rent per day you stay past the date you terminated your lease; so you should be sure you're going to move before giving notice.