Another rant on rent

Ok. So an update on our rental situation. The one year lease on our apartment officially expires on the 6th of December this year. However, in a clause on our lease agreement, we have to give 3 months written notice if we do not wish to renew our lease upon expiry - a common phenomenon here.

So 10 days ago, I decided to ring the landlord's office [who by the way owns all the apartments in our block, plus some other blocks, plus a real estate agency, plus...ok I think you get the picture], keen to find out what the rent is for the new year and was informed by them that the renewal letters have been sent out and should arrive within 2 days. Should I have any trouble they said to see the building manager [over here better known as 'The Watchman'].

Well, the much awaited letter finally arrived yesterday evening - the 12th of September. Interestingly enough the letter is dated 6 days earlier, coinciding with exactly 3 months before the expiration of our lease here. Hmm... To top it off, a boxed paragraph at the bottom stating that tenants are reminded they have to give 3 months notice as per clause 123 in the lease agreement.

Now how does that work?