Today we’d like to discuss the beginning of the move-out process. The very first step in move-out is the notice to vacate. Here, our discussion depends upon our GTL standard lease terms. If you signed a lease with our company, whether during an initial move-in or a renewal, this article is for you. If we took over your property, it is possible we are still on your original lease, which we will transition to our GTL standard lease at time of renewal. If you are on a non-GTL lease, it is important to review your specific lease carefully to understand how your terms may differ from our standard terms.
What’s the timeline for giving my notice to vacate?
Fixed Term Leases
In both Florida and Georgia, the requirement is that you must give 60-day notice prior to lease expiration. Specifically, it must be two full calendar months. You cannot give 60-day notice in the middle of a month for a lease that ends 60 days later in the middle of another month. It must be two full calendar months.
For example,
- If your lease ends December 31, you must give your notice prior to November 1
- If your lease ends January 5, you must also give your notice prior to November 1
We must have two full months of your notice to vacate in order to comply with your lease.
Month-to-Month Leases
If your lease is on a month to month status, the requirements for notice are different whether you are in Florida or Georgia.
In Georgia, the same two-month notice requirement applies for month-to-month leases. If you want to leave December 31, you must give that notice prior to November 1.
In Florida, there is only a fifteen-day deadline to provide notice. Month-to-month leases in Florida have a much shorter time frame for the notice to vacate than in Georgia. On a month-to-month lease in Florida, the deadline is fifteen days prior to lease expiration.
Should I give my notice to vacate if I’m not sure whether I want to leave?
If you want to cancel that notice after you have put it in, it’s not guaranteed that you will be able to. Whether we can accommodate your request to cancel your notice to vacate depends on several factors. Imagine if you put in your notice and then just before you are scheduled to move out, you request to cancel that notice. If we have already found another tenant, it is too late and your request will be denied. The new tenant has their binding lease agreement with us and are expecting to move in. We cannot do anything at that point, and your notice to vacate remains in effect.
Is there any way to cancel my notice to vacate?
If you decide you want to cancel the notice, it is really going to be a question of whether we are able to do that or not. After the notice is given, you may not be able to withdraw that notice.
Let’s say you put in your notice to vacate right on schedule, the full two months before the deadline. However, you change your mind. You submit your cancellation as required. We must review your cancellation request, look at all the details for your property, and determine if we are able to accept.
There is a site we have set up for you if you would like to request cancellation after having given your notice to vacate. On this site, there’s a form you can fill out where you provide your name, address, and confirm that you would like to cancel that notice. This is available at ââ¬â cancelnotice.gtlrealestate.com
What is the cancellation process like?
After receipt, we will review your request to determine if it possible to cancel the notice to vacate. We check to see if anyone else has applied to rent that property, if they have already paid an application fee, and if they have already put down a security deposit. These are some of the multiple factors we need to check in order to determine if you are able to continue to stay in the property. If someone else is already lined up to take over the property, you will not be able to cancel your notice.
We aim to complete our review of your cancellation request within about 24 hours during the business week, so luckily you don’t have to wait long to find out! We always respond to your request in writing, so remember to check your email.
Once we have accepted your notice to vacate, you are locked in. We will immediately begin getting the property marketed for rent, have someone out there to put up a sign and a lockbox, all the processes start moving for your move-out and for finding a new tenant. It’s important than when you put in that notice, you really intend to move out. Don’t just put in notice because you’re thinking about leaving, really make sure you intend to move out.
It is critical to understand that once you have requested to cancel your notice to vacate, you’re locked in. Your original notice is gone, and you can’t change your mind at that point and decide you still want to move out at the end of your lease. Even if you don’t sign a new lease, you are considered “month to monthââ¬Â until your current lease ends. We have begun a new two-month notice period (or fifteen days, in Florida). Once you cancel your notice to vacate, you are locking yourself into staying in the property.
Is there an administrative fee?
When you submit your request to cancel your notice to vacate, you agree to pay a $250 administrative fee if we accept. You must agree to these terms in order submit your cancellation request for our review.
Why have a fee? Well, a cancellation request may not be as straightforward as it seems. If we accept your cancellation, we will withdraw your notice to vacate, and the $250 administrative fee is due. We need this fee because as soon as you put in your notice, we begin our process to get that property rented again. We have employees who go out to put up a sign and a lockbox, create the new listing for the property, taking phone calls about the property, and we may have even had our agents begin showings.
If you decide you’ve changed your mind, we still need to compensate those people who worked hard based on the information that your property would be available. When a new tenant is placed, the landlord pays us a fee to compensate for the additional marketing work of bringing on a new tenant. Well, if we aren’t placing a new tenant, there will not be a fee received, but we still need to pay those employees for their work.
What’s the punchline?
The most important thing to remember here is, don’t submit notice to vacate unless you’re really sure you are going to leave! Unless you are right up against your deadline to provide notice, we recommend you wait until you are absolutely certain. You may not be able to change your mind once notice to vacate has been received. On the other side, if your request to cancel your notice to vacate is approved, you are locked into staying at the property. Giving notice and requesting to cancel are both very important decisions, and you should understand you are fully committing to that path.
If you have any questions, feel free to send us an email! We are more than happy to answer any questions you have.
support@gtlrealestate.com
