Just over 6 months ago we bought our first home, but unfortunately had to break our lease. Ofcourse the lease did state that we were responsible for rent until our apartment was re-rented, but i didnt expect it to be 6 months!!
We even paid for 1 month extra rent even after we handed over the apartment officially to the management company handling the apartment, and were willing to forfeit the security deposit. And even got them offers for renters who were willing to pay just $100 less rent than what they were asking for (nothing in writing). But now 6-7 months latter we are being asked for full rent as its just now that they are getting a renter at their expected rent.
I would be really grateful if someone could suggest the best course of action.. as i believe 6 months is a lot of time for an apartment to stay empty.. why couldnt the management company rent it earlier.. or lower their rent expectations in order to get renters? Am being threatened.. pay or collection agency!!
2007-02-24 08:59:45 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
If the management company acted in good faith by marketing the property promptly and continuously to mitigate (lessen) your damages, they aren't at fault. They aren't obligated to accept a rent lower than that you were paying, nor do they have to relax their qualification standards in order to secure a new lease.
However, six months is quite a while to have an empty unit. It's not unheard of - but the market would have to be quite depressed or the unit would have to be in pretty bad shape (or wildly over-priced) to sit that long.
In a case such as yours, the middle ground might have been for you to subsidize the new tenant's rent by $100 or so a month, artificially lowering their rent to get in, but getting you off the hook for several hundred dollars instead of 6 months worth of rent. Another option might have been to lower the qualification standards for the new tenants provided you acted as their guarantor. Not a full release - but better than paying the whole tab for the balance of the lease! Perhaps the manager suffered from a lack of creativity if nothing "outside the box" was considered after a month or two of vacancy...
In my opinion, you'll have to demonstrate that the manager acted in bad faith if you want to fight this. Such acts might include overpricing the unit (higher than what you were paying), rejecting qualified applicants, failing to use reasonable efforts to market the unit, or establishing conditions for a new lease that were so restrictive as to prevent re-rental in a reasonable time. Look at these issues and see if there might be grounds to contest some or all of the charges.
2007-02-24 09:22:46 · answer #1 · answered by njc_flhtc 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They can demand payment for damages AND get it. If you signed a lease then leave with a significant amount of time left. You are responsible for their loss during the time it was not rented. And if it rented for less than your agreement, then you are responsible for the difference.
Your forfeiting the cleaning deposit, (if you actually left the place clean and rent able) and paying an additional month can cover some of what was due, but admits liability.
If you signed the contract thinking that you would be able to break it if you wanted, that is called fraud, and they can demand triple damages. If they receive judgment against you for fraud, you cannot escape the judgment even with bankruptcy.
However, that said, the landlord is obliged to rent the property if possible, and they can only charge you for the difference if the rent is less than your agreement.
They can report you to a collection agency, but that means little. If the collection agency acts inappropriately, you can actually file against them for damages under consumer protection clauses.
As a landlord, I run into this all the time. You are responsible for your promises and a contract is a solemn promise. You are obliged to keep it. In New Jersey though, the judges are bleed heart liberals, so you are likely to escape.
This is just one of main reasons that rent is so high in the eastern states. These costs have to be mitigated in some manner, so they are charged against the remaining tenants.
2007-02-24 09:29:26 · answer #2 · answered by A_Kansan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You signed a lease. Under the terms of the lease, you agreed to pay rent for one year, payable in monthly installments. Your landlord is under no obligation to forgive the payments if you change your mind.
But your landlord was willing to change the terms, which you agreed to, allowing for you to be off the hook if the landlord found new tenants. The landlord did not find new tenants. You were responsible.
Do you have to pay? Heck no. You can let it go to collection. Or better yet, you can pay a lawyer lots of money, pay court costs, go to court, argue your case, and wind up paying lots more money in addition to the rent you owe.
Chalk it up as an expensive lesson learned.
2007-02-24 09:19:05 · answer #3 · answered by CJKatl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
tell them to see you in court and good luck to them i would go to your old place and ask the new tenant like to them if you have to say that the electric company says you are still living there and you want to straighten this out ask them to write a letter stating when they moved in etc this will help in court most states including nj that the most the landlord can ask for is 60 days and since you forfited the security deposit and paid an extra months rent you have already done this also check your old lease it may have a home purchase option good luck
2007-02-24 09:10:45 · answer #4 · answered by Mark R 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
they would have to prove reasonable effort to rent the unit. they dont have to lower rents on it to do so. i would research rent turnover rates in your county and see if it compares. i had the same thing happen when we bought a house, and i told them i wanted my deposit back in full because i had it rented for them, but they put those renters in another unit. this is what they do, fill all units but yours. you should have had a friend 'look' at your apartment and see if they tried to push another one on her. they have no incentive to rent your apartment if there is even one other open, because yours is still paying them rent. call an attorney and ask what the expense would be to write a letter on your behalf, it could clear it up for you quick. it worked for me and i got my deposit back as well.
2007-02-24 09:15:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on the terms of your lease - if it says you are responsible for rent until the end of the lease period, or until a new renter is found (before the end of the lease period), you are responsible.
I would check out http://www.nj.gov/dca/dh/ - contact them with all of your details and find out exactly what you are responsible for paying. Another website to check for contacts on fair housing is www.hud.gov
Good luck!
2007-02-24 09:05:57 · answer #6 · answered by Sue 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Speak with an attorney in your area and find out what your rights and obligations are. Then you can chose what is the best course of action to take.
2007-02-24 09:11:53 · answer #7 · answered by notaxpert 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no they can not you can go to you local lawyer's office and tell them what's going on and you could have a law sute agains t them and they can lose if you got the proof.
2007-02-24 09:04:32 · answer #8 · answered by spenser g 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋