I have just received via mailman a 30 day notice certified letter from my landlord stating I am on a month to month

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When did you get this notice? Today? When do you pay your rent, the 1st of the month? Thanks.

I'm a landlord-tenant attorney but if you'd rather speak with someone else, that's up to you.

In fact, I did landlord-tenant law as my first job out of law school for several years, so I answer Landlord-tenant questions here.

Okay thank you. Do you pay on the first of the month?

Okay, and what state is this in?

That's good for her but that doesn't concern you. I understand.

Technically, you have until July 31 to vacate. If she wanted you out at the end of June, you had to be served by May 31. If she wanted you out in July, you have to be served by June 30 but that gives you till the end of July.

She's not allowed to just throw you out. She'd have to do an eviction to get you out. Technically you can stay there till July 31 because your month to month is from the first to the end of the month.

If you don't want to get into a hassle with her, then you can vacate in 30 days, which would give you just a few days less than the end of July. That's up to you. To avoid a hassle, you can vacate near the end of the month, but then she'd have to pro-rate your rent. If you stay till the end, you'd have to pay the whole month.

I still do landlord-tenant cases. You can get a second opinion if you'd like here. People ask for second opinions all the time.

It's not her business where you're going, or anything of that nature -- that's your personal business, not hers.

You can tell her you technically have till the end of July if you want to tell her that. Then you can see if you can negotiate with her for more time if you need it.

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I would wait, because if you're not staying the whole month, you do not owe the entire month and she needs to pro-rate that. So you should talk to her about that.

That's why you may want to mention that you have till July 31 but if she wants you out earlier, she would need to pro-rate the rent. That's what I'd advise.

Good luck to you and I hope this works out for you.

Normally people don't have to vacate in the middle of the month. They have till the end of the month IF they pay on the first of the month, so the month to month term runs from July 1 to July 31.

I'd explain to her that you have till July 31 to leave, but if she wants you out earlier she needs to pro-rate the July rent. I don't know your relationship with her -- if you can talk to her, absolutely I would talk to her. If she's difficult, then there could be a problem.

Usually people try to use their security deposit as last month's rent but that's not what it's for, although people do that anyway.

Whether she cashes it or not is not the issue here -- it's when you have to vacate. The law allows month to months to stay to the end of their month term, which would be at the end of July. So, you may want to negotiate with her if she wants you out sooner.

It's not whether she cashes it or not, because you can tell her she owes you money if she does and if you're out earlier than July 31. If you want to live on the security deposit, and don't mind losing that, then that's up to you.

I'm just letting you know what your rights are.

No, it's not till the end of July IF you send her a check. It's till the end of July BECAUSE the notice is effective till the end of your month term, July 31. The money has nothing to do with it.

That is why I'd talk to her and work out a deal for a pro-rate first before you mail the rent.

Right, I understand.

That's why I would talk to her, ask her to pro-rate the month's rent IF you're going to move out earlier than the end of the month. I'm trying to make sure your rights are protected.

You may pay the full month of July and she may still expect you out by July 25. So that's why I am suggesting you discuss this with her. She may think you are moving by July 25.

Okay, you can do that but there's a problem with that.

Yes, she would have to evict you. If you're evicted, you may have trouble renting another apartment, but if you're going to buy something, then that doesn't really matter.

Having her go through an eviction proceeding will indeed buy you extra time.

I agree with you, this is a terrible way to have you vacate after being there for so long and especially with the dogs. It's not fair and it's not even humane. But unfortunately it's legal.

That being said, that's up to you whether you want to buy time or not.

The judge could order you to pay legal fees but not likely.

A court should be sympathetic for: 16 years there, and 4 dogs

You may have rental costs of another place, not necessarily much in the way of legal costs if you do this yourself.

You can certainly try. Yes, you can ask the court for that. But if you do, you're better off getting a legal aid lawyer to ask for you.

You can post another question in a new post, because this one has been maxed out. But I wish you the very best of luck here. I've given you some alternatives that you can use, and it's up to you to decide which way you want to proceed.

You can not mail the rent but I would honestly suggest talking to her to see if you can work something out.

Yes, I would suggest that. I can help you find a lawyer if you want.

I'm more than happy to do that. Please know, I want to help you and that's my function here. I'm an attorney for 41 years with a background in several types of law.

You can certainly mail the rent. If you don't think you're going to be out by the end of July, then yes, you need to mail the rent.

I think you misunderstood. I'm saying yes, you can mail the rent. I didn't know whether you were vacating earlier, though, in which case you would want to have your rent pro-rated. That's all. I'm just trying to protect you.

Good luck with this. Let me look for legal aid for you in your town. I'll be right back.

Right now -- this is what I found.

Are you in Porter County?

I'm happy to help you.

Sure you can ask as many questions as you want. We're just not allowed to stay with the same question for a long time.

Here is the listing I found:

https://www.justia.com/lawyers/landlord-tenant/indiana/porter-county/legal-aid-and-pro-bono-services

I wish you the very best of luck and I hope you are able to secure housing for yourself and for your dogs. I have two golden retrievers, so I know how hard it is to find places that take dogs.

Good luck to you!

You're most welcome. I've added my other qualifications to my opening. I was just trying to keep my greetings short but I understand you didn't see landlord-tenant so that's why I added it. I also answer estate and legal questions as well.

I hope everything goes well for you, I mean it. I truly hope you can get out of this arrangement with her without hassles, but she should be rather ashamed at her treatment of a 16 yr tenant with 4 dogs!

Be well!

You are most welcome. I'm concerned for your well being and hope that this works out for you.