Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania
Lease after DEATH
My father just passed. Just prior to his passing, he received a lease renewal notice requiring 60 day notice of vacancy or renewal of his lease. He has lived here for about 10 years. He was a cancer patient, and we all were not sure whether he would be able to continue living there or go to a nursing home but he died suddenly before the notification deadline. In the wake of his death, my sister officially notified the rental office that we would not be renewing the lease. The office was vague on when we needed to vacate. The rent is paid up through the end of the month (6 days from now). We are prepared to have the apartment empty by then. Are we obligated to continue paying the rent for another two months? We reviewed the lease document and this is not addressed in the lease. It just seems silly that we would have to continue to pay. We if we just didn�t? What is the proper action?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Lease after DEATH
First, condolences on the loss of your father.
It depends on what the Lease itself says, if anything, about death of the tenant.
Also, 60 day's notice usually refers to the 60 days before the end of the lease term, not just any 60 days. Therefore, unless the lease or the landlord will agree to allow you [your father's estate] to end the lease early, his estate will be liable for the rent through the end of the term.
The Landlord may agree to let you terminate early, if you can vacate this month and the Landlord is able to immediately re-rent the apartment.
If the Landlord agrees to any release or early termination, be sure to get it in writing, and also ask about application or return of any security deposit the landlord is holding.
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