Legal Question (Landlord/Tenant)

[Groo The Perverted]

Okay this is the situation a neighbor of mine is having.

NOTE: This is in Washington State.

He's looking at getting a new apartment. He should find out any day now whether it will come through. However he has to have his rent for his current place (where I live) by the 5th or he faces a late fee for however number of days he's late.

His problem is that he's been told by the landlord (and supposedly in the contract) that he has to give 20 days notice OR HE HAS TO PAY THEM FOR THOSE 20 DAYS AFTER THE 1st THAT IT'S NOT ABLE TO BE RENTED.

I am guessing that the logic is that if he doesn't give notice, then they don't have time to get someone in in the very beginning of the month, and therefore they're missing out on rent. I GET THAT. However that just seems wrong to me that they're trying to get him to pay IN ADDITION to his deposit for those 20 days.

So example: He finds out 10 days before the 1st that he's going to move out. He just moves his shit out, cleans the room up perfectly, but he does not give 20 days notice.

Under this example, he's not only losing his deposit, but he has to pay the 20 days worth of rent (prorated from the full amount), or even the full month's rent, due to them not being able to rent it.

To ME, this sounds outrageous and I can't imagine that it's legal, however he's insistent that other apartments have done the exact same thing.

Now I've thought that the deposit was not only to guard against you messing the place up, but also if you leave early without notice you sacrifice your deposit.

This is the 1st time I'd heard of someone having to pay the following month even though they are not there.

EDIT: The apartment lease is month to month.