s giving a 30-day notice in MA the law when you are not on a lease/contract?

Hello,
I have been living in an apartment with one room mate. Her parents are the landlords so I never had to sign a contract or anything. No rental agreement what so ever other then how much I would pay for the month. I told them I would be finding a new place around spring. (Also, their daughter does not pay any rent)

I found a place yesterday. They wanted me to move in Feb 1, but I asked for mid-february to give them some notice. Now her parents are telling me I HAVE to stay until February 23rd because it is the law even if there is no lease or contract. I didnt have too much of a problem with that, but now my landlord also left me a message saying she talked to her attorney and I have to pay up until MARCH 1st.
??? Where did that come from?


Please help me. I am now very uncomfortable even being around them and dont want to stay in the apartment any longer. Their daughter is not a good roommate at all and I wish I would have known this before I moved in 6 months ago.

[OHlandlord]

Without a written lease, you are a tenant at will or a month to month tenant. If you paid rent once each month, then you need a month's notice to move out or be asked to move out. If you paid rent on a different schedule, the time period may be shorter. So 30 days would be correct unless you paid rent every 2 weeks or on some other schedule.

The other issue is whether Mass. is a day for day state or a term state. If it is a day for day state, you can give this 30 day notice, and have to be out 30 calendar days later. If it is a term state, the notice you give doesn't take effect until the beginning of the next term (when your rent is next due) and the days count forward from that date, no matter when you actually gave the notice. To find this out, you will need to read the LL Tenant law for your state and lok specifically for a section on notices. Alternatively, you could call a tenant's advocacy group, legal aide, or a HUD office there and ask them when notices must be given.

If it is a term state, and your rent is paid on the first of the month, the notice you give now doesn't take effect until February 1 and you'd be out by March 1. If it is a day for day state, count forward 30 days from the day you gave notice. When did you give notice?

I gave the notice early today. So I think technically the 30 days would be up on Feb 21 and not 23.


I told her I had no problem with that, but then was just very taken back and disappointed when I heard she went to her lawyer to try to strong arm me into paying for/staying for the entire month. Just because her daughter pays $0 to live here, I dont think that means she should be trying to give me this extra hardship if its really not necessary.
I am VERY uncomfortable even being here now.


Another question:
If I did only pay until mid february (only for the time i would still be there) - what legal action could she really take against me? I work part time and dont really make much, so would it even be worth it to her to take me to court for 'chump change'.

Also, I offered to find someone else to replace me in the room for when I moved out - but apparently she did not care.

Anywho,
Thank you in advance for any responses.

[OHlandlord]

You need to find out if your state is a term state or not. Please call a tenant advocacy group, the clerk of court, legal aide, a LL's association, or someone in that area who would know. This would determine if she would even have cause to sue you at all.

Your state doesn't specifically say 30 days notice, it says notice for the same period as a rent term. If you paid once per month, it means a month's notice. This is generally 30 days, but could also be construed as having to be out on the same day as you gave notice (Feb. 23rd). Only a court could tell you. But just be out by the 21st and you'd have no problem. There's nothing that says you can't move out early, you just have to pay the last month's rent. One day probably wouldn't make much difference.

If your state is a day for day state and you pay rent until Feb 22 (which is 30 days from Jan 23 since you don't count the day you give the notice), they have no reason to take you to court. If it is a term state and you pay the rent until Feb. 22, they could only sue you in small claims for the other 6 days in Feb. (6 / 30 days = 1/5 a month of rent). I don't know how much your rent is, but 1/5 of it is probably very little money. It may cost more to file for the court than what they could gain. (Although some people do file just for the principle.) Did you give a security deposit? If so, they might try to subtract those days from that as a deduction.

Offering to find a replacement tenant was a good gesture. You should put it and your notice to move out in writing (backdate the written Notice to Vacate by saying "Per our conversation of 1/23, I will be vacating the unit within 30 days and am tendering my 30 days notice to vacate as required by law." Or other words to that effect. She does not have to allow you to find the new tenant, but offering shows good will.