Breaking a lease in FL (lease does not say how long we agreed to lease the place)?

Question

Hi there,

We are needing to break our lease due to the fact that my husband got a job promotion and relocated to another city. We agreed to an 18 month lease and still have 6 months left however when looking at our lease (which I think is the weakest lease ever) there is no place where is says we agreed to an 18 month lease, it gives the date we sign the lease (just the date no year is listed) and there is a line that in order to receive our deposit back a minimum of 18 months rent must be paid first but no where on the lease does it say the date the lease is supposed to end. We talked to our landlord last night and he is already talking about taking us to court if we break the lease. He has been a real pain ever since we moved in, which brings me to another question when we first moved in he shut our water off, he claims it was an accident and he only told the water company to switch it but the water company told us he said to turn it off. Does this give us a reason to break the leas

OK, I can't figure out how to add a new comment below so I will just add here that there is NO where on the lease at all that's say's we are signing an 18 month lease (just the one line that to get back our security deposit we have to pay 18 months rent) or a place that gives a date that the lease ends, there is also no where in the lease explaining penalties for early termination. We are fine with losing our security deposit, but do you think if he takes us to court that he could win?

Answer 1

The only terms that are enforceable are those that are in the written lease agreement that you signed.

If your lease does not have beginning and end dates, then every court in the country will interpret your agreement as being a month-to-month tenancy. The court will ignore the landlord if he attempts to argue that he had an "unwritten" agreement with you to lease the place for 18 months (unless you admit to the judge that you agreed to an 18 month lease, so don't do that).

If you give 30 days notice, which is all you need to do to end a month-to-month, then your landlord will have no cause of action against you.

Edit: In response to your additional comment:
If your landlord goes to court, he will argue that you agreed to an 18 month lease. A lease for more than a year MUST be in writing to be enforceable. (Fla statute chapter 725.01.) The ONLY writing the landlord has is the lease, right? The ONLY clause that indicates any duration whatsoever is the 18 month security deposit thing, right? So, that means the judge will need to interpret what the 18 month security deposit refund means. What do you think the judge would rule? That it means you agreed to an 18 month lease, or that you agreed to a month-to-month, but the landlord wouldn't charge you for cleaning carpets, painting, etc., if you stayed there 18 months. I believe the latter is most plausible, if you argued it.

But, one caveat: Nobody can say definitively how any judge will rule. This is an educated prediction only.

Answer 2

According to what you have told us about the lease it appears that you don't have to stay the full 18 months, you just have to pay 18 months worth of rent. The situation is somewhat ambiguous and you need a local landlord/tenant lawyer to see you through this. I don't think the temporary turning off of the water, although it's an outrageous thing to do, is cause to break the lease unless it was repeated or ongoing. It seems like a very weak argument since it was 12 months ago, and only once, and you did not try to break the lease then.
An 18 month lease requires that you pay rent for that period and that the premises be exclusively for your use and habitable for that period. Unless he interfered with your tenancy or the premises were unsafe or unhealthy, there is no cause to relieve you from your obligation to pay the rent.

Answer 3

Look again, EVERY lease has a lease period on it, usually a year, maybe 18 months in your case. I find it very hard to believe your landlord forgot to include the lease period on the lease. I am sure that the penalties for early termination are clearly explained in the lease as well. Unless your landlord is a complete moron, which is always a possibility, but not likely.

Answer 4

Don't listen to those that advise you not to pay the rent on your own. It is illegal to withhold rent for any reason without going through the proper procedure & getting a court order. This action will just get you sued. They cannot just ignore a roach problem!! They have a legal obligation to get this taken care of. Do not let them off the hook to screw over someone else. You need to sue them to break the lease without paying.

Answer 5

You should get a pro-rated amount back. Which if it's not said in the lease, means you may be up bleep's creek without a paddle.

If you have a friend who is a lawyer, bring your lease to him.

As for the second issue, if the water's back on in your name, it's not an issue anymore if it's 6 months past.

Talk to him, see what your options are through him... if that's unacceptable, get a lawyer and seek legal action.

Answer 6

from what i understand, in the state of florida any leases longer than a year must have an attorney present for the signing. might be a possible loophole for you to look into. i am renting for the 1st time and it's only been 3 months, so my knowledge isnt very extensive. good luck to you.

Answer 7

If there is no date of expiration on the lease - you are free to go.

You will probably lose your deposit.