Location: Baltimore, Maryland
So my lease has a 90 day autorenewal notice clause, after which it autorenews at the same terms.
My landlord emailed me 2 days before that deadline to ask if I intended to renew. My mistake is that I replied a week later, so 85 days before the end of the lease, that I did not want to renew.
She then replied that my lease had irreversibly autorenewed, and that my rent had increased by $100 a month. According to Maryland law, landlords must give 90 days or more of notice before a rent increase. I pointed this out to her, and after much arguing she admitted fault, but claimed that the autorenewal is still valid as long as she adjusts the price back to what it should be.
So at this point, I accidentally emailed my landlord only 85 days before I intend to move out, and I’m being charged around $4000 in lease break fees.
My landlord tried to illegally increase my rent, admitted fault, and is allowed to just backtrack and maintain the new lease without any penalty whatsoever.
This seems like absolute BS to me, but unfortunately the lawyers I’ve contacted have not been particularly helpful. Is there any recourse for me here? Thank you for your time.
Comments
I’m not sure she actually had to roll back the price increase. I’d want to see the language of the lease and particularly the auto renewal. But I certainly don’t see any problem in her position that your lease auto renewed and you don’t owe the $100 rent increase for the first 90 days.
Trying to change a condition of the lease doesn’t automatically invalidate the current lease.
She tried to increase the rent. You held her to the language. She backtracked … but you are held to the same language she is. If the terms of the lease allowed it to be auto renewed, then it’s now current and active.
Now you have to read the lease very carefully to see under what conditions you can terminate it. There’s a very good chance you’re subject to the buy out, and that’s probably what lawyers were telling you.