Is Barb entitled to the full calendar month of her rental apartment despite an out-of-sync 60 day notice?

Question

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Barb has been living in an apartment complex in which her lease is month-to-month. The rent is not prorated based on the number of days in the month; each month, she owes the same X amount of rent regardless of the number of days in the respective month.

The complex required a 60-day notice to be given by a tenant who wants to move out. Barb gave a 60-day notice on April 30, 2021. 60 calendar days would fall on June 29, 2021 (i.e. 31 days of May + 29 days of June = 60 days).

However, Barb was charged full month’s rent on June 1 for the month of June, and, according to the agreement, not a prorate amount (i.e., not ((X/30)*29)).

Barb thereafter was told that her move out date was June 29, 2021. Which takes precedence? Considering that Barb has paid the rent for the full month, will she have been imposed a duty to leave before June 30, 2021 since they gave such notice? Will Barb get to stay for the remainder of the month without engaging in any unlawful conduct?

Answer 1

Presumably the lease contains an automatic renewal provision that says unless you give notice 60 days in advance, you commit to another month (otherwise, you can just leave at the end of the month). The landlord may have made a math error, or they may be misinterpreting what the agreement says. Most likely it says that the duration of the lease is a month, meaning a whole month, which can have between 28 and 31 days. Unless otherwise stated in the agreement, that means "to the last day in any given month".

A 60 day notice provision states the minimum number of days to stop automatic renewal, not the maximum or exact number of days. The language of the agreement will most likely say something to the effect that the duration of the lease is a month, and that is what the courts will enforce.