My sister and I got a year lease that started on August first when we moved away to college but need to move back home. There are a few problems with the apartment(maintenance problems that have been brought to the attention of the landlord, but has not been fixed, horrible ant problem, security gate broken since we moved in) but those aren't the reasons we want to end the lease, we want to leave December 1st. Please any suggestions!
2007-10-27 14:23:01 · 5 answers · asked by feinr88 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
Communicate with the landlord and see if you (tenants) can negotiate a termination or buyout of your lease. If you and the landlord come to an agreement - get it in writing.
Offer 2 months rent as a buyout (as a starting point) and be willing to allow showings on demand.
Understand that it will cost you to break your lease and that the landlord would be doing you a favor by letting you out of the lease.
Stick to the reasons that you want to leave and do not try to play hardball regarding repairs. There are laws in place to force the landlord to make repairs and you must follow the procedure per the laws. The need for repairs does not automatically allow you to break the lease.
The landlord can hold you liable for rent until a replacement tenant is found - this can be very hard during the winter & holidays. You could get stuck paying for several months.
The landlord can hold you liable for any costs that he may incur due to your breach, such as advertising costs, agent fees, etc.
The landlord can sue you for the above mentioned costs and get a judgment against you. This will hurt your rental history, credit history and make finding an apartment very hard in the future, so your best bet is to either work something out or stay until the lease expires.
2007-10-27 17:03:14 · answer #1 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I understand your desire to leave the premises early, but your landlord will not understand, and justifiably so. He has probably passed by other potential tenants in favor of your lease, and will expect that you honor the contract you signed. I would advise honoring it, since the landlord will probably obtain a judgment against you for walking out on the contract, and then neither of you will be renting anywhere for quite some time to come.
2007-10-27 22:19:25 · answer #2 · answered by acermill 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The landlord isn't likely to find another tenant for this academic year. You can talk to the landlord, but you probably will have to pay 8 months more rent.
2007-10-27 21:32:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Read your lease. There is probably a fee and a procedure involved in breaking your lease.
2007-10-27 21:27:47 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
find another renter to continue your contract.
2007-10-27 22:19:14 · answer #5 · answered by ashley 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋