2. Figure out when your tenancy ends if your notice wasn’t legal
Question & Answer
What can happen if I move without giving proper notice?If you gave your landlord that you were moving out but your notice was not legal, your will end on the earliest date that it could have ended if you had given a legal notice that day.
To figure out the earliest you could have used, check the notice requirements for your type of tenancy: monthly tenancy, weekly or daily tenancy, or fixed-term tenancy.
Example 1:
You are a tenant. On February 5, you gave your landlord a notice saying your tenancy would end on March 31. This is less than the required 60 days, so the notice can’t end your tenancy on March 31.
On the day you gave notice, February 5, the earliest termination date you could have used was April 30. So your tenancy will end on April 30 and you are not responsible for rent after that date.
Example 2:
You are a month-to-month tenant. On May 2, you gave your landlord a notice with a termination date of July 1. That is 60 days’ notice but July 1 is not a valid termination date because it is not the last day of a tenancy . The previous day, June 30, is the last day of a tenancy period, but May 2 was too late to give notice for June 30, because it is only 59 days before.
When you gave notice on May 2, the earliest termination date you could have used was July 31. So your tenancy will end on July 31 and you are not responsible for rent after that date.
Example 3:
You have a 2-year that ends on August 31, 2015. On January 20, 2015 you gave your landlord a notice that you were leaving on March 31, 2015. This is more than 60 days, and March 31 is the last day of a rental period – but the notice is still not valid. This is because a 2-year lease is a tenancy and March 31 is before the end of the .
When you gave notice on January 20, the earliest termination date you could have used was the last day of the fixed term, August 31. So it is possible you could be responsible for the rent for that long – but only if your landlord really cannot find a new tenant.
