I have been forced due to loss of work to terminate my lease 4 months early.?

Question

I have been a faithful resident at the Club at Spring Valley (Concord Management) for 9 years & never late on a rent payment.

I spoke with the property manager today & he said it is a $1000.00 dollar penalty to break the lease early.

I can depart the property before DEC 1. 07'
I am not behind on any rent & they have a $500.00 security deposit in their possession.

My rent is $529 per month.
In the event they DO NOT rent the unit by DEC 1st, what if I gave them another $29.00 dollars before leaving & that would cover them until Jan 1st 08'

Their document says that a deposit does NOT cover rent obligations....why not??

If I don't pay the $1000.00 they state they will initiate collection proceedings will report the balance due to the credit bureau.

I cannot believe after being open & straight up with these people after nine years that they would not take the deposit & part ways amicably!

I am looking into any & all all options including bankruptcy!
HELP!!

Answer 1

Sometimes there is a clause in the lease that if you have to move a certain number of miles away due to a change in employment, they will allow you to break the lease.
If you leave early, in the end they will deduct what is owed you from the deposit and put it towards what you owe them. Sometimes part of a deposit is non-refundable.
If you make payments every month on what is owed to them, chances are they won't take you to collections. If you can borrow some money from someone that would be good.
I would talk to someone higher up than the manager. A person such as you that has been a good tenant should be able to work something out. If all else fails, start to cry and see what happens with that.

Answer 2

I often wonder why people always want to file bankruptcy for unsecured debt. You obviously don't own a home, so what exactly are you trying to protect by filing bankruptcy? Get financial advice, bankruptcy is not for you.

As for the apartment, it makes no difference when they rent the property, if the lease states that the charge to break it is $1,000, then that's what you pay. The security deposit is for any damage that may need to be repaired over and above the fee to break the lease. And how on earth do you figure they will rent the property before December 1? If you are not out by the 1st be prepared to owe another $529 +your $500 deposit + $1000 to break the lease. If you leave the place in good repair you may get your $500 back but you cannot use it as a rent offset, if you do that they can and most likely will sue you.

Answer 3

Dear Michael D,

i am no expert on this- although i sympathize with you having been laid off from my job back in August.

The reason your deposit can not be used in lieu of rent is because the purpose of the deposit is to account for any damages found when you move out.

Most property managers are just employees of the management company and are probably just following orders. i'd try to go higher up to the management company and explain your situation- find out a bit about whether there are possibly renters waiting to move in- or perhaps if you helped them find a renter to replace you whether they would be forgiving regarding their policy. Usually they want the advanced notice so they can fill your vacancy and that's really the key issue- they want the $1,000 because it may take them some time to get the $529/month they were getting from renting you the unit. See if that approach works. i think if they can find a renter to replace you- you'd think just as human beings they'd be able to show some compassion.

Kindly,

Nickster

Answer 4

I hate to tell you this, but they could force you to pay the whole of the four months if they don't find another tenant to take your place. The lease states a certain amount of time you guarantee to pay them money, and if you break the lease, you still owe them the money whether you live there or not. So if this happens, the 1000 dollar penalty might be the cheaper option if they really want to play nasty.

I hope you manage to sort something out with them, this is a horrible situation to be in, but it is law. That doesn't offer any comfort to you though, so let's hope they manage to get another tenant in as soon as possible, and show some compassion in coming to a better deal with you. Good luck.

Answer 5

Have you considered subletting? I know many apartment complexes frown upon this, but ask around ( to people who don't live there) and see if anyone knows of the rules regulating this. If it's a smaller complex, it may not be able to happen, otherwise, i would call it your best bet.

Basically all subletting is, is finding another renter for your unit. Have you considered just letting a friend help you out? Let them live there, have them pay the rest and have them let you stay there if need be. Well, thats all subletting is as well. It's only 4 months, thats horrible. I knew s lady who had to vacate 9 mo early, this is what she did, subletting. She gave them the sec. deposit as well.

Best of luck with this, I really do wish you to get thru this.

Answer 6

i would advice you too take a laon or a borrowing from a frnd of urs till ur problem gets resolved bcoz ev1 the authorites must be bound by some law and they cant be allowing u to do what u want?

Answer 7

Sorry to say, "a lease is a lease". Have you tried to "sub'lease" and does your lease allow you to do that?