Lease breaking charge by Camden (Houston, Howe: apartments, renter, lawyer)

[LauraTsal]

Hello ,
I'll try to summarize my case in few words, we moved to Houston in Dec 14 in a Camden property and signed a lease for 15 months. After 6 months I lost the job and had to move to another state, I opted for transfer to another camden property and according to the agreement, paid half a month rent penalty, (According to the agreement , if I move to another Camden property lease breaking charge was half month rent , otherwise one month rent). On moving to another state , I found the Camden property here is not upto the mark , and to top it all the staff was too rude, so I decided to go for another apartment (please note I already paid the registration fee of 175 dollars in new Camden also, that I lost.)

After a month, I recieve a mail from Camden to pay one month's rent as I didnt transfer to Camden, I agreed to pay, but asked for a refund of my half a month rent that I paid as transfer charge which is 600 dollars. Brazenly Camden has refused to refund that money and charging one month rent over that (1200 dollars).
Please suggest what shall I do ? Is there any option for me .

Thanks in advance !
Laura

[ipuck]

You should be grateful they didn't come after you for the rest of the lease that you sign for.

Paying one month to get out of the lease does not sound unreasonable.

The other charges are really your own fault and I don't think anybody would refund you just because you change your mind. Is it their fault you change your mind?

Frankly, it would not surprise me if they try to collect the rest of the rent from you.

[DSL_PWR]

I second what ipuck said. Just move on and hope they don't come back for the rest.

[perro_peluo]

Agree with what everyone else has said, be happy with what you paid and move on. Camden nor practically any other landlord will come after you for the remainder of the contract. They loose that right to claim the remainder of the rent once the apartment is rented again. Law only allows the landlord to recover expenses for the remainder if it stays vacant, once it is under contract you can't try to recover lost income when it is earning income on a new contract.

I had a renter tear up my property and I wanted to sue the pi$$ out of them. My lawyer quickly explained to what it would cost to pursue and it made no sense

[cinfali]

In these apartment contracts the breakup fee is clearly stated. OP already said it is one month's rent. So, no, they can not come after her for the remainder of the lease.

OP, I guess they reserved a spot for you in the Camden property you had agreed to move to. In that case, they "might" have turned down some other applicants, so they can claim the additional half month rent is justified. I am not an expert of course and I don't know the specific language used in the contracts you signed. However, my guess is they probably have the right to that money legally. Perhaps you can try to plead your case to a higherup at Camden, if you can find one, and ask the fee to be waived as a courtesy.

[marksmu]

The Houston Camden gave you a lease break fee. Pay that amount and nothing more. Pay the remaining balance, and write on the check "payment in full"

Texas law is clear that a landlord can not charge you for lost rent if they re-rent your apartment. Many of the camden properties in Houston have no apartments available, so 1 month would be the maximum they could charge by law (other than damages) because they would have the unit re-rented by the end of the 1st month.