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I'm in the process of breaking my lease. My landlord mentioned if we needed to break the lease early he'd be okay with it as long as we found someone to replace us.
I left him a voicemail today letting him know my intentions of breaking the lease and he said he had a few penalty policies that he wanted to discuss with me. I tried calling him back but no answer.
Curious about these policies I checked over my lease and there is no mention of any penalty when breaking the contract. Is this normal? Is lack of penalties on the lease agreement as good as saying there is no penalty agreed upon?
Does it mention breaking the lease at all? If it doesn't my assumption would be you don't have the right to legally break the lease and the LL could probably come after you for whatever money you don't pay (or until they re-rent the place).
So you may not have to agree to pay any penalties, but your LL may not have to agree to even let you out of the lease at all.
I agree that no mention of penalties does NOT equal no penalties.
You are asking for them to release you from a bilateral contract. That can only be done by agreement. They are telling you that they will agree to release you, but only under terms x, y and z. Sounds like "x" is that you find a new tenant. "y & z" might be that you pay for cleaning costs during the transfer, or that you forfeit your deposit or that the new tenant is a subleasee, so you remain responsible ultimately for rent/damage.
I agree that no mention of penalties does NOT equal no penalties.
You are asking for them to release you from a bilateral contract. That can only be done by agreement. They are telling you that they will agree to release you, but only under terms x, y and z. Sounds like "x" is that you find a new tenant. "y & z" might be that you pay for cleaning costs during the transfer, or that you forfeit your deposit or that the new tenant is a subleasee, so you remain responsible ultimately for rent/damage.
I understand I'm ultimately responsible for the months left on the lease and I'm pretty sure we will find a new tenant within the month (housing is VERY limited here).
I guess my question is, if he has some oddball policy in order for me to break the lease, am I legally obligated to fullfill HIS own policy that is not on my lease.
A lease is a lease is a lease is a contract and you're bound by its terms. The penalty he's probably referring to (absent a specific clause in your contract addressing early termination) probably addresses the basic landlord tenant laws applicable to most states.
You're responsible for the full payment of rent for the duration of your lease. If you leave the premises before your lease term has expired and stop paying rent, the landlord can take you to Small Claims Court and sue you for the balance of the lease. At the same time he must also prove that he's tried to mitigate his damages by making every effort to find new tenants.
Thanks for the quick replies. I already understand completely everything everyone mentioned, my question (probably worded poorly) was could an additional penalty (regardless of what type) be placed upon me when it is not in the lease. Could I be held liable for something other than months left on my lease due to his own personal policies if it wasn't on my lease? Does an absence of discussion of the penalties on the lease empower him to enforce whatever he pleases?
I've already contacted and resolved the matter, penalty is half of the deposit. So a pretty good deal in my opinion. Thanks again though.
That does seem like a pretty good deal. Some people go through a lot worse. He could, for example, ask for the remaining balance in full (and refund you when someone new moves in). I think your question would best be answered by a lawyer. Technically, if you are breaking the lease he could also charge you for the cost of re-renting it. (Advertising, cleaning, a variety of things.) Plus, if you decide you don't want to pay the fee and get taken to court, you aren't going to look the greatest because you broke your lease. If this is a legal grey area, that perception of you may matter.
Thanks for the quick replies. I already understand completely everything everyone mentioned, my question (probably worded poorly) was could an additional penalty (regardless of what type) be placed upon me when it is not in the lease. Could I be held liable for something other than months left on my lease due to his own personal policies if it wasn't on my lease? Does an absence of discussion of the penalties on the lease empower him to enforce whatever he pleases?
I've already contacted and resolved the matter, penalty is half of the deposit. So a pretty good deal in my opinion. Thanks again though.
I understand what you are trying to ask, and answered it in my above post. The answer is: The landlord does not have to agree to let you out of the lease at all. Therefore, you have two choices. You can fulfill your lease (continue to pay every month until your lease is up) or you can come to an agreement with the landlord. Those terms can be anything you agree to. In this case, the landlord is letting you off very lightly. If the agreement you all came to was that you give them your appliances in exchange for release you from the lease, then that would be permittable. Anything (legal) that you agree to is acceptable.
He could NOT charge for remaining months of the lease AND penalize you in some other way. It is an either/or. Either you pay what you owe, or you come to another agreement. And that agreement can be anything legal.
I understand I'm ultimately responsible for the months left on the lease and I'm pretty sure we will find a new tenant within the month (housing is VERY limited here).
I guess my question is, if he has some oddball policy in order for me to break the lease, am I legally obligated to fullfill HIS own policy that is not on my lease.
I always have to laugh how tenants turn the table around when they are doing something wrong or want to break the lease....it is always the other party who is acting weird, "oddball policy", or greedy, while the tenant is causing the situation.
You are breaking the lease so your first reaction should be;
-I should be happy the owner is willing to consider me breaking the lease and willing to discuss it.
-What can I do to help the owner find a new tenant.
-What can I do to make the place as it was when i moved in.
Than the owner should be able to keep the security deposit for lost time since it will be rare to have a new tenant moving in the day after you are leaving.
Last...you are not obligated to fullfill "his own policy" if you don't want to...you can also just stick to the Law and keep paying until your lease is over
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