Final answer:
Penny and Joe have received a notice to terminate their one-year lease after just one month, which typically constitutes a violation of the lease unless there's a specific clause allowing such action. They should review their lease agreement and may need to seek legal counsel to address this potential violation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Penny and Joe are dealing with a potential violation of their lease agreement. Given that they signed a one-year lease, unless there is a clause that allows the owner to terminate the lease upon the sale of the property—which is not the standard—the lease should hold under the new owner. The couple's rights in this situation would be protected by property and contract law, which generally state that the new owner of a property must honor existing leases. The text provided refers to the termination of a month-to-month lease, requiring a 30-day notice, which does not seem applicable to Penny and Joe since they are in a fixed one-year lease and not a month-to-month arrangement.
If the notice they received does not correspond with the lease they signed, and there is no legal just cause for their eviction, this notice could very well be a lease violation. In most jurisdictions, tenants are shielded by laws that prevent sudden termination of leases without valid, legal reasons and sufficient notice—typically, this notice period isn't less than the interval between rent payments, and often longer in the case of a fixed-term lease. To determine their course of action, Penny and Joe should review the terms of their lease and consult legal resources or a professional if needed.