I signed another 6 month lease in August but NEED to get out of it....HELP?

Question

I found out I will be working in another city and need to be out by October 1st (3 months early)....I called the landlord and she said "she is not in a position to let me out of my lease and will have a vacant unit then"...

Is there a way I can get around this? What happens if I just leave? I thought if you gave sufficient notice it would be okay.

I have not had any problems since this...please help!

Answer 1

Of course it's not OK.  A lease is a legal binding contract.  The landlord must adhere to the terms of the lease, and you must as well.

If you think it is OK to just 'give notice', would you accept the same on that lease if the landlord 'just gave notice' that the rent was going up $100 per month ?

Answer 2

Your lease is a legal agreement to pay.  You don't have to physically live there, but you do have to pay the rent.  At worst, you'll end up paying rent in two cities.  It's not your fault you have to move, but it's not your landlord's fault either, so she shouldn't have to suffer for YOUR changes.

Offer to find a replacement tenant.  Advertise in your local area and put in the effort to find some potential tenants.  Ask the manager if she will consider ending the lease early if you locate a suitable tenant - that way both of you benefit.

Answer 3

Since you have to leave if you paid her an extra months rent or something she would probably let you out.  Just call her up and tell her you must leave and if you let her keep an extra 30-40 days worth or rent would that be ok.  Tell her that since you have to leave, if she refuses you are just going to have to leave anyhow, and though she cold keep your deposit it would still be less money anyhow and by taking the money she may even may someone in there before your extra rent runs out.  Be nice, tell her you are very sorry you these things happen and you have no choice.  

If she refuses this you could simply leave.  She can, and may, sue you for rent owed but even if she got a judgement it would be nearly impossible for her to collect on it (though this would hurt you credit for a long time - not really the way to go unless you have no choice).

Another possibility is if you could find someone to take over your lease (sublet to them) maybe that would be ok with her.  You can run that by her if you know someone.

Answer 4

There must be a clause in your lease that states the amount you have to pay if you want to end the lease early.  As far as you giving sufficient notice, that doesn't matter to landlords.  Landlords have leases so tenants can't just move out when they feel like it, they have to stay for the term of the lease.  If leases didn't exist, tenants would be moving in and out whenever they felt like it, and landlords would go bankrupt.  If you just move out, the landlord can sue you in court to collect what you owe her/him.  This will go on your credit as a Civil Judgment for 7 years, so don't just move out.  As far as your security deposit, she will need that after you move out for cleaning and repair, so you can't use it as rent that you owe for breaking your lease, even though tenants always say, "The apartment is in better/cleaner condition then when I moved in."  I can't tell  you how many times I've heard that!  You have a lease, it is a legal document, you are responsible for all it's terms.  I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but facts are facts.

Answer 5

NO - Giving proper notice does NOT get you out of your lease - it is a legally binding contract.  You can only give 30 days notice and leave without penalties if you are on a month to month agreement NOT a lease.

She is under no obligation to let you out of your lease and would have every right to keep your deposit. At this point it is up to her if she will charge you a lot of other fees or even let you out at all. It is an unfortunate situation, but perfectly legal on her part.