Breaking a lease - Please advice (tenant, deposit, credit, house)

[prs]

I have about 8 months left in my lease. I live in privately owned condos. My neighbor upstairs (who owns his unit) is driving us crazy. He is literally making noises 24-7. we have utilized all our options: HOA, Talking to the bastard, Called cops, Complained to landlord who cant really do a whole lot as these are privately owned units. I wanted to break my lease. Any advice on what it may cost me or whats the best way to go about it?

[tstone]

Read the contract you signed. Chances are you'll have to pay reletting (85% of one month) + any additional months someone doesn't live there, and say goodbye to your deposit. Chance at getting your credit screwed viciously and falsely. One viable option is to put an ad on Craigslist for a sublease. Sucker someone into it, y'all sign the paperwork, then skip on outta there and into your new place. Been there, done that.

[Mom2Feebs]

Hope this helps:

Getting Out: The Texas Tenant Advisor

Good luck!

[MDMontemayor]

Sounds like you may have my old neighbor, better you than me.

[texags02]

Just know however that if you sublet the place, the sublessee can leave the premises at the first sign of trouble, and you're still liable for his rent. (lawyer here).

[prs]

Mr. Lawyer, I am asking for advice on how to break the lease....i am sure you know some tricks.

[Chimpie]

Originally Posted by tstone

Read the contract you signed. Chances are you'll have to pay reletting (85% of one month) + any additional months someone doesn't live there, and say goodbye to your deposit. Chance at getting your credit screwed viciously and falsely. One viable option is to put an ad on Craigslist for a sublease. Sucker someone into it, y'all sign the paperwork, then skip on outta there and into your new place. Been there, done that.

Do the above with a twist.

Go to craiglist or where ever and find someone to finish the rest of your lease. Once you find someone, contact your landlord and tell them that you want out but you've found someone to take over the rest of your lease. He shouldn't care because he still gets his money.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by texags02

Just know however that if you sublet the place, the sublessee can leave the premises at the first sign of trouble, and you're still liable for his rent. (lawyer here).

True, forgot about that one.

Make sure the sublease has an assignment clause, releasing you of responsibility.

Landlords can also say ''no'' to subleases. You may say ''he gets his money either way'' but that doesn't mean your landlord/property manager isn't a dumbass.

[modster]

First, they can't just "take" your deposit for breaking your lease. It has to be applied to something, cost of reletting, cleaning fees, balance of lease, whatever.

I don't know what kind of lease it is, but the standard ones call for a cost of reletting that is 85% of one month's rent, plus the balance of the lease or until a new resident takes over, whichever comes first. (They cannot collect "double rent" by charging you for the 8 months left on your lease then turning around and re-renting it the next month).

I would be upfront with your Landlord and tell him you want out, and find out what his "criteria" is for tenants. If you can use craigslist and backpage to find a replacement tenant, which you should be able to do, see if he will just let you out of the lease if you can give him a replacement on a silver platter. I would even consider paying some fee or something to cover his costs for "prepping" the unit again for a new tenant. Chalk it up to lesson learned and go get a free standing unit or a house.

[Lake Conroe resident]

About the only thing you can do short of joining the military or telling your landlord that an ex is stalking you is this. Go to the landlord and tell them that you want to terminate and for them to start marketing he property for others to rent. You will have to put up with folks coming into your home for showings though. After they find someone (if they do) you will still owe a one month penalty more than likely. You have to ask yourself what your sanity's worth...