Landlord charging me an early termination fee?

[delron72]

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Oregon

On April 12th, my landlord sent the members of my house a notice that at the end of May he was terminating our lease to turn our house into a bed and breakfast. I have travel plans that I can't change, leaving on May 20th and not returning until June 10th, so I asked the landlord if he would accept less than a 30 day notice so that I could move before I left. He said that he understood and asked what day I would be leaving. I told him I would be moving out on May 2nd, and he did not respond for a week. When he did finally respond, he said that he would be charging me $32 ($16 a day for the two days I would be here in May) as well as an early termination fee of $150. I looked through my lease and this is what the lease has to say:

There is a line that says 'Lease Break Fee: $0'
and there is a line with a box in front of it that says 'Check if Early Termination Provision Applies' and the box is unchecked

At the bottom of the lease it says this:
4) Early Termination Of Lease: If the early termination box is checked on page 1 of this Rental Agreement, upon any failure of Resident to occupy the unit for the full term, for any reason other than as provided in ORS 90.453(2), 90.472 or 90.475, Owner/Agent may charge Resident, all of the following: a) all rent, unpaid fees and other non-rent charges accrued prior to the date the Owner/Agent knew or reasonably should have know of the abandonment or relinquishment of the unit; b) all damages related to the condition of the unit; c) an early termination fee in the amount set forth on the front of this Rental Agreement, which amount may not exceed one and one-half month's stated rent; and d) interest on the above amounts at the statutory rate from the date each was due. The early termination fee is due on the earlier of the date Resident gives notice to vacate of the date the unit is vacated. All other amounts are due at the times specified in this Rental Agreement. If the early termination box is not checked, or if Resident has not given Owner/Agent at least 30 days written notice of intent to terminate and paid rent through the termination date, Owner/Agent may elect to recover damages resulting from the early termination, including but not limited to: repayment of concessions; all rent through the earlier of the date the unit is re-rented and the lease termination date; advertising and administrative costs to re-rent the unit; concessions given to re-rent the unit; the difference in rent if a lower rental rate is received from a replacement resident during the remaining term of the original Rental Agreement; damages related to the condition of the unit, and interest on all amounts at the statutory rate.

I asked him to explain the $150 fee to me and he responded that he decided to charge me $231 for rent until May 16th instead.

Is there anything at all I can do?

Thanks!

[matchitisiw]

He can't charge you for that. If he takes that fee out of your damage deposit, you should contact your local government office and lodge a complaint. All states should have government departments that oversee landlord/tenant matters. If all things fail, you could take him to small claims court.

[bergh39]

Well, here's an important fact that you left out of your lengthy story: WHEN DOES YOUR LEASE END? Because, if your lease runs until, for example, September 1, or October 1, or whenever, then what you should do is say, "OK landlord, if you insist on being a butt by charging me $231, then I'll be a butt and stay here until my lease is up. So, your choice. You want the B & B by June 1, or do you want me to stay until my lease expires?"

With stupid landlords, it pays to play hardball.

[lalla3]

Since he is the one terminating your lease, he cannot charge you for that.

He decided to call it rent when he realized he was wrong. So you owe him $231 for May rent but that is not much, so I dont know what your complaint is.

[blaeey]

If you have a lease, he cannot just break it. (Just like you could not freely walk away from it.)
Tell him that you are going to stay for the entire lease period;
Unless he wants to make it worth your while to leave early for his convenience.
You have a legal agreement with him. Too bad he wants you to leave.
Sorry for him but leases are binding on Landlords and Tenants unless BOTH parties come to a meeting of the minds.
(If your lease is ending and he is not renewing, I would certainly try and vacate early to avoid high fees that appear to be for his convenience.)

[voliny13]

The lease answers the question of what is owed. It's not up to the landlord to just "decide to charge you" a certain amount. However, he was being reasonable by letting you leave May 2nd. Asking you to move out May 16th is also not unreasonable. You were asking for something special to move out with less than 30 days notice. Oddly, your lease does not provide for a *fee* for breaking the lease, though, so no, he can't charge you one. He *can* charge you rent for all the days in May that you occupy the place. Leave the place in good shape to maximize your odds of getting your deposit back. Communicate with him in writing and keep copies of everything so that you will prevail in small claims court if it comes to that later. Find a new place to live BEFORE you tick your current landlord off since you may need their reference. Also get copies of proof of all rent having been paid (bank stattements if not receipts from landlord) and take pictures of the inside of the house at move out so you can prove the condition in which it was left. Your next landlord wants to know that you will pay the rent and leave the place in good condition. They don't care about much else.