I got hosed on this exact issue years ago. I had to pay way too much money for not understanding this, and giving my notice too late. If your lease expires on Jan 31, 2011, you need to provide written notice on January 1, 2011, 30 days prior to moving. Even though the lease explicity says it ends on January 31, even though you’ve already paid for January rent.
W/o that notice, the lease automatically reverts to a month to month tenancy on Feb 1. Read your lease, there is probably a clause in some cryptic legalese that specifically mentions this reverting to month to month.
It makes sense from a landlord’s perspective, in that, they want to market the property and let prospective tenants know the exact date it’s available, which they can’t do w/o your notice. That being said, I think it’s a shady practice.
As a mom and pop landlord myself, I’m always in communication w/ tenants 1-2 months before lease expiration to find out their intentions. I always make sure they understand to provide this notice if they plan on moving out at lease expiration.
