Any breaking lease experiences? (Austin, Howe: apartment, leases, credit report)

[kellw]

My husband was offered his dream job in Austin and so we moved about a month ago with nine months still on our lease. We received a letter from the management company stating that we owe almost $11,000 for accelerated rent. I understand this, we signed a contract but who can pay something like that? Has anyone been in this situation and what happened? Were you able to negotiate a buy out with your landlord? I discovered online that an owner is not entitled to collect double rent.

[EzPeterson]

I've done this twice in the past for relocations. One, I was able to negotiate a settlement (basically paid rent until it was leased again, and forfeited deposits). The second, I sub-leased the apartment.

Contact the property manager/landlord and see what you can negotiate.

[BriansZ]

Did you discuss this with the mgmt company before leaving? They can charge you until the end of the lease, but if you can't afford the whole amount then you should still be able to pay monthly per your lease agreement. Of course, you'd also be responsible for utilities until the end of the lease. Contractually they are probably doing it the right way. However, contact them and see if they will work with you.

[OpenD]

They are legally required to be diligent in trying to rent the place, and cannot charge you rent once it has been rented to someone else. The amount they are claiming now is your total liability, should they fail to rent it.

What is more likely is that they will take a month or two to rent it, and you will be liable for that rent, plus whatever penalties you agreed to in your lease. Often it is an additional month's rent as a cancellation penalty.

In any case, get your lease out and read it.

In Texas a slightly different scenario is written into a lot of leases... one that specifies the way to break the lease by paying a specific amount. Advantage is it allows property managers to settle up immediately.

In any case, read the lease!

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by kellw

My husband was offered his dream job in Austin and so we moved about a month ago with nine months still on our lease. We received a letter from the management company stating that we owe almost $11,000 for accelerated rent. I understand this, we signed a contract but who can pay something like that? Has anyone been in this situation and what happened? Were you able to negotiate a buy out with your landlord? I discovered online that an owner is not entitled to collect double rent.

Ask about this again in the Renting forum here in City Data, //www.city-data.com/forum/renting/ and say what state you are moving from. You should try to negotiate this with the landlord. In most states the landlord is obligate to try and find a replacement tenant for you and you are not obligated to pay for more rent then the months the unit if vacant. If it is not too late, take photos of the condition of the apt. when you move out and handle all of your negotiations and notices with the landlord in writing so you have evidence if needed in the event this has to go to small court to resolve it. In general, lots of people are in this situation these days and the courts are going to tend to be in your favor if you are trying to settle this in a fair and equitable manner. But if you are trying to walk away from your contractual obligations, not so much.

For that amount of money it could be worth hiring a lawyer in the state you left to help settle it.

At worst if you just walk away from the obligation the landlord could try to sue you for the damages. If the court awards them it could end up as a judgement on your credit report until the statute of limitations runs out on the claim. So it can hurt your credit, ability to get loans, etc, for years to come if it is not resolved.