Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I currently rent a house in Cleveland, Ohio and the lease terminates on 3/1/17. Around October I found a home to purchase and I have began the purchasing process around that time. Once I knew I was going to get this house, I sent my landlord a text message saying "I would like to discuss options for terminating the lease earlier as I will move out on 12/15/16." (I have screen shots) She said "you have to find someone to take over or you will have pay until March when the lease is up."
The lease has an early termination clause, which states I just have to provide one month's notice and pay for that extra month. I explained this to the landlord and she says she doesn't know what I am talking about and I cannot do that... The only problem is that the lease I have is from the previous year 2015 - 2016, not 2016-2017.. and I don't have the signed copy. However, I am 99% sure the only thing that was changed in the current lease is the dates, and if we were to go to court, she would have to furnish the signed lease..
We decided to look for a tenant to sublease as this option would work best for both parties, but I did tell the landlord, if we cannot find anyone, we will still leave and not pay the remaining months as indicated on the lease. So we put ads up and found MANY interested tenants. We arranged to have several of them meet with the landlord and she tried very hard to find an excuse to say no. She turned down one family of four because she thought 4 people was too many for a 3 BR 1.5 BA 1500 sq. ft. home. Another couple was turned down because she suspected their credit was bad. A third family was turned down because they had a dog, yet we do too! To make matters worse, she told different parties the different costs. For one family it was 1500, the other it was 1400, yet I have been paying 1350 for two years..
As you can see the landlord is extremely picky and really doesn't care for trying to sublet the house. What are my options? I plan to vacate mid December and pay all of December rent. I gave plenty of notice and provided multiple tenants for subleasing. What are my chances of getting the security deposit back and is it worth taking her to court for?
I would go to court if I felt I had a case. You may have to pay until your lease is up, depending on what your lease says or if you misunderstood something. I doubt it says one month's notice and pay for an extra month because that means you would be month to month and just leave a month or 2 into the lease if you wanted.
What she can't do is double dip, she can't charge you for rent for the months after you leave until March and rent it out to someone else.
I would be prepared to pay until the end of the lease, that's how it works, you can keep trying to find people and make notes and records of her refusal reasons and price differences.
I would remind her that she can't double dip and her homeowner's insurance may not think highly of having a vacant house for several months.
I would go to court if I felt I had a case. You may have to pay until your lease is up, depending on what your lease says or if you misunderstood something. I doubt it says one month's notice and pay for an extra month because that means you would be month to month and just leave a month or 2 into the lease if you wanted.
What she can't do is double dip, she can't charge you for rent for the months after you leave until March and rent it out to someone else.
I would be prepared to pay until the end of the lease, that's how it works, you can keep trying to find people and make notes and records of her refusal reasons and price differences.
I would remind her that she can't double dip and her homeowner's insurance may not think highly of having a vacant house for several months.
Below is VERBATIM from the lease:
6. EARLY TERMINATION: Resident may terminate this agreement before expiration of the original term by:
a) Giving Management at least one month's written notice to be effective only on the last day of a given month; plus
b) Paying all moneys due through date of termination; plus
c) Paying an amount equal to one month's rent; plus
d) Returning residence in a clean, ready-to-rent condition
You can't say that is verbatim since you DO NOT have your 16-17 lease!! Did you sign a new one-year lease or did your old lease go month-to-month after the first year?
I signed a new one and I am making the assumption that nothing was changed from the first lease to the current.. I'd find it very coincidental if they specifically removed that part of the lease. But I get your point, its not clear cut as I do not have the current lease, but again, if she tries to sue me for not paying the extra months, she would have to furnish the current lease that contains all signatures..
Do you know for sure when you signed to renew that it was a full copy of a lease or was it just a renewal addendum which is simply a letter stating the renewal term dates and any and all changes to the original lease, if applicable.
If it was just an addendum and that clause was not changed via the addendum, then your original termination clause still stands.
Why wouldn't you have a copy of whatever you signed to renew? And if you don't have a copy, why don't you ask them for a copy of what you signed?
ETA: and to clarify, that clause means that you owe the full month of rent through your notice date PLUS an extra month of rent for the early lease termination.
Last edited by Corn-fused; 11-19-2016 at 12:25 PM..
Here's the deal, without your copy of the lease, you don't have squat. You can ask for it, but who knows if she messed with it, you cannot prove it.
This is what she can do: make your life hell if the new lender wants a rental reference, and, she would have to move fast, but she could get a judgement for nonpayment against you. Just make sure you have the full picture on how ugly this can get, and quickly.
Written notice is not a text message. Give written, on paper, notice and mail certified with return receipt.
Also the clause you quoted says to the end of the month, which would be Dec 31, not Dec 15. But this also means you still have time to do the written notice correctly, which is by the end of THIS month. And you do want to do this correctly because it seems like your landlord will fight you on this.
6. EARLY TERMINATION: Resident may terminate this agreement before expiration of the original term by:
a) Giving Management at least one month's written notice to be effective only on the last day of a given month; plus
b) Paying all moneys due through date of termination; plus
c) Paying an amount equal to one month's rent; plus
d) Returning residence in a clean, ready-to-rent condition
I gave a notice in Mid October...
a) It says you have to give it on the last day of the month.
c) one extra months rent (penalty for early withdrawal)
Send your LL a text and/or email copying the passage about termination that you showed in your post. Ask your LL to provide you a copy of a lease you signed that conflicts with your lease in hand. If she can show you that information, at least you will know what your chances are if she takes you to court. I am betting the new lease has the same language as the first year lease you have in possession.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
