This amendment to House Bill No.

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date of this amendment is not provided in the source material.

Amendment Changing How Tenants Return Keys

This amendment updates House Bill No. 217 to change how tenants can return keys when their lease ends.

What This Bill Does

• Changes the word 'mailbox' to 'drop box' in the law text.
• Allows a tenant to hand over keys in person on the next business day if the leasing office is closed on the last day of the lease due to weekends, holidays, or other closures.
• Permits tenants to leave keys inside the rental unit or in a secure drop box chosen by the landlord.
• Requires written notice from the tenant stating where and when they left the keys.
• States that if a landlord provides a secured drop box, it must be clearly labeled as such.

Who It Names or Affects

• Tenants who are ending their lease agreements
• Landlords or leasing offices managing rental units

Terms To Know

Surrender of keys

The act of returning the keys to the landlord when a tenant moves out.

Secured drop box

A locked container provided by the landlord where tenants can safely leave their keys, which must be clearly labeled as secured.

Limits and Unknowns

• These rules only apply if the lease does not already have a clear procedure for returning keys.
• The law requires that landlords must not have given written instructions about key return before the lease ends.
• This text describes an amendment to House Bill No. 217 but does not show the full original bill.

Official Summary Text

This amendment to House Bill No. 217 replaces the term “mailbox” with “drop box”, adds in-person return on the next business day to the means of key surrender, and permits the tenant to leave keys in the rental unit or a secured drop box identified by the landlord.

Current Bill Text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. K. Johnson

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1

TO

HOUSE BILL NO. 217

AMEND House Bill No. 217 by deleting lines 14 through 17 in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

“

(d) If the lease does not provide a clear procedure for the surrender of keys, and the landlord has not provided written instructions for surrender of keys prior to the end of the lease, a tenant may surrender the keys through any of the following methods:

(1) If the last day of the lease term falls on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or other day on which the leasing management office is closed, the tenant may surrender the keys to the landlord in person on the next business day following the expiration of the lease term.

(2) A tenant may leave the keys in the rental unit or secured drop box identified by the landlord or leasing office, with written notice to the landlord in reference to where the keys are placed and the date of return. If the landlord provides a secure drop box under this paragraph, the landlord must clearly label the drop box as secured and the tenant’s duty to surrender the keys is completed once the keys are deposited in the secured drop box.

”.

SYNOPSIS

This amendment to House Bill No. 217 replaces the term “mailbox” with “drop box”, adds in-person return on the next business day to the means of key surrender, and permits the tenant to leave keys in the rental unit or a secured drop box identified by the landlord.