State Specific Question About: KENTUCKY (KY)

This is a landlord site: you probably won't get a lot of advice on how to screw your landlord. There are many tenant advocacy sites.

If you had a lease and moved out early, most state laws require you to continue paying rent PLUS cost of advertizing to get the place re-rented until a new tenant is found. The fact that you decided to move out early is immaterial. You signed a lease and must honor the commitement. She's probably going to have a tough time finding a new renter in winter. The fact that she's considering returning your deposit should make you thankful, as she could probably just apply that towards re-renting costs.

I am not trying to screw my landlady. When I moved in over 12 months ago, I paid the first month rent, security deposit and last months rent. As it turned out, I paid the rent for the 12th month and I left the place with no damages and I gave appropriate notice to leave. I think that she is having trouble with her finances and wants to screw me out of $1600. $800 deposit and $800 last month rent.

Whoa people, did anyone hear anything about 30 days notice here?

Read my Lips, Gloria. I gave proper notice and there were NO damages. It really turns out that my landlady can't afford to give me back my $1600. Not sure if she is drinking it away or trying to buy other properties with it. She is well known around town as someone that buys alot of properties.

"I paid my last month's rent as a courtesy to my elderly landlady."

Did you just make a mistake and paid your last month rent twice? Why would you do it as courtesy?

Julie, if you react the same way in court when you are questioned about what led up to the current situation, you will not get far in court, whether you are right or wrong.

It's too bad you forgot you prepaid your last month's rent. Usually the tenant will send a written 30 day notice that they will be vacating and for the landlord to apply the last month's prepaid rent. So you double paid your final month. The landlord has to return the double payment.

Hopefully you have records, receipts, or cancelled checks for the payments you made. My leases always contain payment information which would include monies paid to move in and security deposit info, etc., and a signed copy is given to the tenant.

You were discussing with your landlord the move out and the landlord told you to leave your forwarding address for the return of your security deposit.

A proper notice is written with the forwarding address on the 30 or 60-day notice (depending on your state's particular laws).

The way you wrote your initial post leads the board to believe you in fact did not give proper notice, but gave verbal notice. You paid your landlord a courtesy month's payment knowing you had already paid your last month's rent. In the initial posting you said, "I reminded her about the last months rent that was paid.".

Without proper written notice, which includes the forwarding address, the last month's courtesy payment is actually the 30 days you would owe your landlord. A judge would certainly rule in your landlord's favor if you have not given proper written notice.

Most states do have notification guidelines for tenants outgoing and the return of deposit. Your particular state demands written notification to the landlord. Your landlord may be on the receiving end if you did not give proper notification, which your initial post does seem to imply. The particular paragraph is:

In the case of the landlord, it is delivered in writing at the place of business of the landlord through which the rental agreement was made or at any place held out by him as the place for receipt of the communications, or mailed by certified mail to him at his place of business or at any place held out by him as the place for receipt of any communication.

In your third posting you said, “After a years time we all forget where we are with the payments as I always pay my bills.” And “Small claims court seems like the answer but you probably has the Judge in her back pocket.”

You should wait the appropriate days available prior to filing suit against your landlord and actually have written documentation of what your landlord actually returns to you.