After 1 year lease is over, is it legal for California apartment to charge you extra money?

My 1-year lease on a 1 bedroom apartment in Santa Ana, California is over in 1 WEEK, but the apartment is charging me extra because they told me I didn't leave a 30 days notice.





The start of the lease was Feb 1st 2010. It will be Feb in 1 week.





We received a paper in the mail that asked if we wanted to renew our 1-year lease.


And that if we ignore this message they will assume that the chance to renew was forfeited.





The problem is, from the day I saw them (which was Jan. 19th) to report a leaking faucet (because I want them to fix it so when I leave the apartments they will see that I tried to take care of the place and hopefully give me back my security deposit) the woman in the office asked why I did not tell them that we are going to leave at the end of this month.





So.. from the 19th... is supposedly the start of the 30 day notice.


Until Feb 19th.


I will have to pay them for the 19 days I stayed extra.





What the...?





This is a 1-year lease about to be expired in 1 week.





Is this legal that they are complaining that I did not give a 30 days notice and now they are demanding I pay for the 19 extra days they want me to stay???





I never heard of that. I know a lot of people that lease 1 year and this never happened.





The only times I have heard of the 30 day notice is if the lease is broken earlier than the termination date ... OR if you are renting a month-to-month not a lease.





So someone please help me. This is bs.|||I would not pay or take them to small claims court by not signing a new lease is the 30 day notice|||I was thinking the same thing, but the problem is when I asked to take a view at the leasing agreement, somewhere deep in the pages it says "IF TENANT IS UNWILLING TO RESIGN FOR ANOTHER 1-YR LEASE, THEY MUST PROVIDE 30-DAYS NOTICE " Augh.


They were in caps and bolded, BUT small fonts. :(

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|||Totally legal. You didn't give them 30 days, lease or no lease





The only place you don't have to is in NYC, proper.|||Yes, my apartment did this to me twice. Big pain in the rear!!


It is common and legal.|||Read your lease agreement. I suspect it is in there and you signed it. If you are absolutely sure it is NOT in there, then either cough up the money or with a landlord tenant attorney, explain why you are not renewing your lease, you see no mention of the 30 day clause, etc. It may end up in arbitration.|||It depends on the terms of your lease agreement. It is typical to pay for the coming 30 days, not the previous 30 days. In cases where you pay for the previous 30 days, the clause you described is typical. Again, you'll need to read your agreement. Usually, a contract automatically renews after the first year and if either party wants to cancel, 30 days prior written notice is required. Most likely, they are within their legal rights to require 30 days notice and expect you to pay for those 30 days. When leaving an apartment, expect to pay for 30 days from the time you informed them of your intent to vacate. Again, 30 days written notice for either party is standard practice.