Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate > Renting
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-13-2016, 05:32 AM
 
15 posts, read 13,185 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by reenzz View Post
Check your lease and see if it says anything about a early termination fee. If it does not, try to negotiate a buy out with the landlord. Offer like two months rent and a forfeiture of your security deposit. Get everything in writing.
Our lease does not say anything about this...lesson learned. We did offer to forgo our security deposit plus 90 days of rent and they did not want to agree to that and are holding us for the duration of the lease - through July 2017 or they will let us out if the home sells.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-13-2016, 07:41 AM
 
9,806 posts, read 7,638,556 times
Reputation: 24419
Quote:
Originally Posted by baughle View Post
Our lease does not say anything about this...lesson learned. We did offer to forgo our security deposit plus 90 days of rent and they did not want to agree to that and are holding us for the duration of the lease - through July 2017 or they will let us out if the home sells.
So they will not try to re-rent? Will they let you sublet it or try to find new tenants? I'd hate to sublet, but they are putting you in a tough spot.

Years ago we knew our out of state landlord wouldn't put any effort into re-renting our house when we had to move, but he let me do it, especially when I told him he should raise the rent. I took photos, advertised, made flyers, showed it and took applications for him and found the new tenants (after he rejected the first 6). It was worth it not to be on the hook for thousands of dollars for the rest of the lease.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2016, 07:42 AM
 
Location: Hammond
305 posts, read 566,452 times
Reputation: 359
Does the local ordinance or law require that the landlord accept a qualified sublet? Maybe you can find someone to take over your lease. That is the way things are in Chicago. If you can find a subletter who meets the landlord's application requirements, the the landlord must accept the sublet. Even if it does not require this, maybe the landlord could be willing to accept a short term renter that you may find. In this case you are responsible for the person renting your unit, but you aren't breaking your lease.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2016, 07:53 AM
 
15 posts, read 13,185 times
Reputation: 10
They are not letting us sublet or find replacement tenants.I offered to list on all the websites and screen tenants and do all the leg work for them, but they only want to sell the home at this time.

After scouring the lease, I found this:

If the Tenant violates any part of this Lease Agreement including non-payment of rent or
abandoning the Property prior to the natural expiration of this Lease, the tenant will be
in default of this Lease Agreement and will be responsible for monthly rent payments
until Landlord is able to secure new tenants.

Does that mean they are obligated to find new tenants versus home buyers?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2016, 07:57 AM
 
Location: North Idaho
32,559 posts, read 47,729,085 times
Reputation: 78076
Quote:
Originally Posted by baughle View Post
.....11 months left on our lease. We are having to break the lease........
It's you, OP, who signed a legally binding contract and violated that contract. That's going to cost you.

The landlord can sell his property if he wants to. It's up to him if he wants to hold you to the terms of the contract that you signed. If he tries to replace you, he is going to have to tell the applicants that the property is for sale and thus must be presented in showable condition with 24 hours notice. That will stop most renters from wanting to rent that building. You want the rent to stop quickly and the landlord can sell that faster without a replacement tenant in it.

Probably your best option is to clean it up spotless and either tidy the landscaping or hire a knowledgeable person to tidy up the landscaping so the house looks nice, and hope that the house sells quickly. It's a very good time of year to sell, so cross your fingers and hope the house sells fast.

I don't know Virginia law, but many people have said that the landlord does not have to mitigate in Virginia. Perhaps you knew that you were job seeking when you signed a year long lease and assumed that the landlord would have to take the financial loss for your own convenience? That comes right back down to understanding what you are signing when you sign a legally binding contract. What you think is fair (to you) has nothing to do with it. It's all about the contract and your state's landlord law.

You can try to negotiate a buy-out with your landlord. Other than that, it looks like you pay rnt until the house sells. Contact a local real estate agent and ask him what the average days on market is for your area.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2016, 08:31 AM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ area
3,365 posts, read 5,211,252 times
Reputation: 4203
Go get a lawyers opinion. Maybe get a letter threatening them. How many homes does the LL own? That exemption only applies if they own 2. Are you sure there isn't language that says anything about the landlord tenant act in the lease? Go talk to a lawyer.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2016, 10:18 AM
 
13,109 posts, read 20,856,336 times
Reputation: 21318
1. Read the lease and as mentioned, if it says anything about conforming to the VRLTA, they are covered. Landlords will sometimes use a standardized state lease without checking to ensure it doesn't obligate them to something they normally would not be covered by. You may be lucky and it mentions the VRLTA.

2. VA has a contract doctrine of "Fair Play" which means your lease is also covered under that doctrine. As such, a court will most likely rule the decisions to sell removes any incentive for a person to rent. That in-turn has removed the "Fair Play" doctrine as it's skewed only to the landlord's benefit. By altering the terms of continuation of leasing, they have essentially terminated your lease and instead replaced it with an inferior lease term.

3. If the landlord is interfering with your ability to present a willing an able replacement tenant. they can not impose a duty to pay when you can't mitigate. Although the law is questionable on the landlord's duty to mitigate, under VA law, you have the right to mitigate your own damages. If they are not accepting your self mitigation, they can't charge you rent.

Contact a qualified legal adviser who most likely will notify them of their obligation and your rights under VA civil laws.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2016, 10:37 AM
 
Location: Central Virginia
6,534 posts, read 8,340,612 times
Reputation: 18672
Quote:
Originally Posted by reenzz View Post
Seems like the OP rents a single family home....in which case the VRLTA does NOT apply
Except that some leases do state the VRLTA applies in those cases. So, OP, check your lease.

Editing to add that I see you've already done this.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2016, 10:47 AM
 
Location: San Diego
1,187 posts, read 1,322,246 times
Reputation: 1546
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabrrita View Post
1. Read the lease and as mentioned, if it says anything about conforming to the VRLTA, they are covered. Landlords will sometimes use a standardized state lease without checking to ensure it doesn't obligate them to something they normally would not be covered by. You may be lucky and it mentions the VRLTA.

2. VA has a contract doctrine of "Fair Play" which means your lease is also covered under that doctrine. As such, a court will most likely rule the decisions to sell removes any incentive for a person to rent. That in-turn has removed the "Fair Play" doctrine as it's skewed only to the landlord's benefit. By altering the terms of continuation of leasing, they have essentially terminated your lease and instead replaced it with an inferior lease term.

3. If the landlord is interfering with your ability to present a willing an able replacement tenant. they can not impose a duty to pay when you can't mitigate. Although the law is questionable on the landlord's duty to mitigate, under VA law, you have the right to mitigate your own damages. If they are not accepting your self mitigation, they can't charge you rent.

Contact a qualified legal adviser who most likely will notify them of their obligation and your rights under VA civil laws.
^^^ This.....I am thinking that they will hope you will pay without actually allowing you any ability to find a new tenant.

Personally, and I never advocate for this, I wouldn't pay them. Consult a local attorney.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2016, 10:54 AM
 
Location: San Diego
1,187 posts, read 1,322,246 times
Reputation: 1546
I agreed to a lease buyout once in a similar situation. It was 3 months rent and security deposit was returned to tenant after minor charges for repairs.

I too, put the home up for sale and it sold in a couple weeks, so while you signed a lease, I think your landlord is being greedy. I think your offer of security deposit plus 3 months rent is fair, but put it in writing via email, text and registered mail so if and when you end up in court you have documentation to prove your offer.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate > Renting

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:06 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top