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We live in Virginia and have 11 months left on our lease. We are having to break the lease for job relocation - 4.5 hours away. We are working with the landlords that are the homeowners and instead of listing for rent, they want to list for sale and still want us to be accountable for the rent through the duration of our lease or until the home sales. They said they would also list for rent on the side. This set off many red flags for us. We want to list ASAP on all the rental websites and look for tenants ASAP.
The housing market here isn't so great and we have concerns they would turn away renters if there was someone who seemed interested to buy. Are we correct in thinking this doesn't fall within the law of trying to mitigate losses and making reasonable efforts to re-rent?
Unfortunately, Virginia landlord/tenant statutes exempts:
10. Occupancy in single-family residences where the owners are natural persons or their estates who own in their own name no more than two single-family residences subject to a rental agreement.
So, unless the lease states otherwise and if you live is such a home, the landlord has no duty mitigate.
Is this not accurate? When doing research, I came across this advice that was given to someone who was renting under the same circumstances. Does it not end our obligation with the lease if the landlord decides to not rent and sell instead?
Info I found:
If you choose to terminate your lease early, the LL has a right to continue charging you for any unpaid rent until the property is re-rented, or the end of the lease, whichever occurs first. The LL has a duty to mitigate their losses by making reasonable efforts to re-rent the property. If the LL is no longer offering the property for rent after you leave, then they are voluntarily giving up the rental income - and they CANNOT continue to hold you responsible for that loss when they themselves are doing nothing to recover it.
That being said, the LL has two options - they can either actively seek a replacement tenant, and hold you liable for unpaid rent until that happens (and provide proof upon request of such efforts), or they can choose to withdraw the property from the rental market and end your obligation under the lease. The LL is welcome to have the property on the market for sale while seeking a new tenant, but must still be actively entertaining new tenant candidates in order to carry out their duty to mitigate.
The landlord is not required to mitigate nor do the VRLTA laws do not apply to you if your renting a single family home and the landlord owns 2 or less properties.
Reenzz are you sure? I just looked at the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and it says the Landlord Does have a duty to mitigate.
The problem the OP may have is they can act like they are trying to rent it while actually concentrating on selling. They would have to sue you for the rent though if you didn't pay and I'm not sure how the judge would react to them selling at the same time?
It just doesn't seem fair to me that we could still pay almost a year of rent while the house is listed for sale on the market when it could have been easily rented during that timeframe. We can't try to find replacement tenants if the home owner isn't willing to accept them.
Reenzz are you sure? I just looked at the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and it says the Landlord Does have a duty to mitigate.
The problem the OP may have is they can act like they are trying to rent it while actually concentrating on selling. They would have to sue you for the rent though if you didn't pay and I'm not sure how the judge would react to them selling at the same time?
Seems like the OP rents a single family home....in which case the VRLTA does NOT apply
It just doesn't seem fair to me that we could still pay almost a year of rent while the house is listed for sale on the market when it could have been easily rented during that timeframe. We can't try to find replacement tenants if the home owner isn't willing to accept them.
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.
It just doesn't seem fair to me that we could still pay almost a year of rent while the house is listed for sale on the market when it could have been easily rented during that timeframe. We can't try to find replacement tenants if the home owner isn't willing to accept them.
You're assuming the landlord will act in bad faith & you're the one breaking the lease. Landlords have every right to pick & choose who they'll rent to & they don't need or want your "help" in marketing the property. Many people who appear interested in a property aren't qualified to rent it.
In my area, a "rent or buy" listing on the MLS shows up equally in all the searches as a rental or as a purchase, there's just an asterisk & a link to the purchase/rental listing, so it's being marketed in both ways, and your supposition about "holding out for a buyer" is unwarranted. I'd expect your landlord doesn't think it's "fair" that you could sign a 12 month lease & give notice within 30 days. Did you really get an offer for a job "out of the blue" a great distance away in just a couple of weeks?
You're assuming the landlord will act in bad faith & you're the one breaking the lease. Landlords have every right to pick & choose who they'll rent to & they don't need or want your "help" in marketing the property. Many people who appear interested in a property aren't qualified to rent it.
In my area, a "rent or buy" listing on the MLS shows up equally in all the searches as a rental or as a purchase, there's just an asterisk & a link to the purchase/rental listing, so it's being marketed in both ways, and your supposition about "holding out for a buyer" is unwarranted. I'd expect your landlord doesn't think it's "fair" that you could sign a 12 month lease & give notice within 30 days. Did you really get an offer for a job "out of the blue" a great distance away in just a couple of weeks?
I'm not assuming the landlord will act in bad faith. They are really great people and we've had a great experience renting from them, but the market here is very slow and we simply can't afford to pay double rent while the homeowners list for sale versus rent. The homeowners do not use a property management company to rent so they aren't going to list it as either or. It will be listed for sale with no other outlets listing it for rent besides craigslist. And yes, my husband works for a company that relocates employees on a regular basis. This is our 3rd move in 3 years...
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