What are some legit reasons to break a rental lease?

Question

Is a long term unemployment a valid reason; Is a 2 month notice sufficient? Is relocation to another state valid? What are the alternatives?

Answer 1

The lease is there for a reason... to protect the landlord and to protect you. You can not just move because you have had some troubles in your life. Read your lease... you may be able to break it with a reletting fee. I am in Texas and the reletting fee is normally 85% of 1 month rent plus a 30 day notice (or 60 notice what ever the lease states). Go talk to your landlord and see what they can do for you.

Answer 2

Reasons To Break A Lease

Answer 3

Best answer = read your lease. The only thing federally mandated is the solider's and sailors act - which is related to being in the military. If you could prove you had a disability or medical condition which required you to move, that might work - depending on specifics (Americans with Disabilities Act & Fair Housing). Other than that, the state or locality may have tenant landlord laws that require an "out" clause on a lease. However, unless one of those things applies to you, you are pretty much stuck in the lease unless your lease gives you an "opt out" or the landlord agrees to negotiate something for you.

Answer 4

It all depends upon exactly what is stated in the lease that you signed as well as what your state's laws are. You can usually get out of a lease if you are transferred by your employer. Your lease will explain the terms of breaking your contract. Usually you lose your deposit no matter what your reason might be. I would definitely give a 2 month notice and talk sensibly with you property manager. They really can be human and understanding and should be willing to try to help you with your problem.

Answer 5

What you need to do is write a letter to the other lessees explaining why you are leaving. Be professional! Rise above! Then you have to try and sublet your room. Be sure to copy your landlord on your correspondence. Your landlord has the final say on your sublet. Make sure you run ads, put up flyers in the local cafes, etc. You have to show that you are making the effort to sublet. You can continue to pay the rent while you are trying to sublet or if your roommates decide to cover your part of the rent while you are trying to sublet it...good...otherwise, everyone on the lease will be on the hook for your missed rent. He will not go after you alone, but all persons on the lease as contracted. Good luck and better luck next time with roommates!

Answer 6

Cris is pretty much right along with DarkShadow's habitability issues.

I would add that you should speak to your landlord and explain your situation. It comes down to an issue of practicality.

If you are in a situation where you are unable to pay your rent any longer or shortly will be in that position, it is in your landlords best interests to release you from your lease rather than go through the eviction process when you get to the point where you stop paying your rent. It will cost them time and money to get you out, and they won't be getting any rent money while they go through the process. By letting you out of your lease, they have a clean break and can take steps to re-rent the unit immediately so they won't lose any money.

Some landlords like to shoot themselves in the foot by resolving to "hold you to the lease" no matter what; and later find that although they were within their rights to do so, they have screwed themselves out of time and money. Just because you can doesn't always mean that you should.

A landlord with good business sense and experience will let you out of a lease in your situation.

Answer 7

There are two types of legit reasons, those the lease allows, and those the landlord allows. For the first type, read the lease, for the second, it's a crapshoot depending on the landlord, how they like you, and their mood that day.

Answer 8

All of the possibilities you stated are valid reasons for breaking a lease but you don't need any excuse or reason to do so. All you need to do is give 2 months notice according to the Landlord & Tenants Act.

Answer 9

legit reason? you're dead, you're in military and being deployed .
unemployment isn't lease problem - find 3 parttime jobs pay the lease.
if you can't find work - make work.
if you don't have money there, don't move to someplace you don't know to look for work, unless you like sleeping in the car.
read 48 days to work you love. if what you do doesn't pay do some thing/ any thing else.
do not do the dumb plantation slave routine it doesn't work in this century

Answer 10

If the landlord fails to live up to his/her part of the lease, it can be broken. You'll have to check the laws in your state for what can be done.