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I live in Astoria, Ditmars area (closer to Astoria Blvd. actually) and may or may not accept a job offer out of state. Do you think it would be difficult to re-rent this apartment quickly, given the state of the economy? It's a rent stabilized 1 bedroom, nice size and in good condition, for $1350. I've been reading about a recent court decision (Rios v. Carrillo) that says landlords aren't obligated to re-rent the unit and can more easily sue to collect unpaid rent. That's making me nervous since I have a year left on the lease. So, I'm trying to find out if apartments are still in high demand and whether I should or should not be worrying about this if I decide to break the lease. Thanks.
NO one can answere that question as its up to the terms of the lease...
there are ploys you can use to try to get out of a lease that stipulates you will be responsible for the balance of the lease as most landlords or their managing agents arent very smart when it comes to tricks of the law.
kids dont try this at home ha ha ha
one such ploy is sending a landlord a certified letter that on such and such a date you will be surrendering the keys and leaving the apartment and you want your security deposit back and termination of your lease...key word is surrendering ..... if the landlord or managing agent dosnt say anything about accepting your terms of surrender, either yes its okay or no we are holding you to the lease and most managing agents dont realize this is something they need to do at this point and the day comes where you surrender the keys and they accept them then its deemed they have accepted your terms of surrender unknowingly under a provision of most states laws called "operational law".....
most managing agents will send you a bill later on for the balance of the rent but its to late, they already accepted your terms without realizing it by not responding up to now . my ex wife had to break a lease because she no longer could afford the apartment and did exactley this and bingo it played out exactly like above. they billed her 2 months after she surrendered the keys and my son who is an attorney wrote the managing agent about the flaw they committed. they thought he was sooooo wrong until they checked with their attorneys and found out they blew it.
the other tragic flaw made is after you leave the landlord will usually paint and fix and ready the apartment for re-rental. again he cant take control of your apartment if hes trying to hold you to the lease by repainting and fixing . once he goes in and does this he has un-knowingly taken back control of the apartment. he cant have it both ways, claiming its still your apartment and holding you to the rent and then taking control and re-renting.
if they do re-rent it and they are trying to collect from you because they are holding you to the lease then its a sublet on your behalf to mitigate your damages and you are entiled to the rent as well as any increase they may have gotten....
at one point it was held that the landlord didnt have to mitigate your damages by trying to re-rent but that recently i understand was changed although the law is very vague on what he has to do. he may just sit a sign out front and do nothing else and that may be ok
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-11-2008 at 04:52 PM..
Well I thougth the owner has to try to put the apartment in the market again, and you only loose the deposit.
I have broken 3 leases here in NYC(dont ask) and never had any problem.
I just say hey take my deposit and you have one month to find a new tenant and dont loose any money. They have to show proff that nobody wanted the apartment.
I think it's very dependent on the building and area. If the LL knows he can re-rent it quickly, he'll be glad to see you go since he'll get a 20% vacancy increase as soon as you leave.
The only question is how fast apartments are rented in your area. I'm not familiar with Queens at all.
I live in Astoria, Ditmars area (closer to Astoria Blvd. actually) and may or may not accept a job offer out of state. Do you think it would be difficult to re-rent this apartment quickly, given the state of the economy? It's a rent stabilized 1 bedroom, nice size and in good condition, for $1350. I've been reading about a recent court decision (Rios v. Carrillo) that says landlords aren't obligated to re-rent the unit and can more easily sue to collect unpaid rent. That's making me nervous since I have a year left on the lease. So, I'm trying to find out if apartments are still in high demand and whether I should or should not be worrying about this if I decide to break the lease. Thanks.
Astoria is a popular area in Queens so it should not be too much of a problem to rent. Your landlord does not have to accept you breaking the lease but I have not experienced one that cares that much about it as long as you are upfront and you leave the apartment in good condition,at least in the outer boroughs. if they balk at you breaking the lease and force you to pay, the apartment will have to remain vacant until your lease is up and that could cause other problems for them.
If they do not want to accept the breaking of the lease, you have the option of subletting the apartment or finding another tenant until your lease is up. With that option, I don't think, the landlord would get the vacancy increase so that may be more of an option for them to allow you to break your lease. The best thing to do is to discuss the possibility of the situation with your landlord and find out where they stand on the issue.
Well I thougth the owner has to try to put the apartment in the market again, and you only loose the deposit.
I have broken 3 leases here in NYC(dont ask) and never had any problem.
I just say hey take my deposit and you have one month to find a new tenant and dont loose any money. They have to show proff that nobody wanted the apartment.
actually they can hold you to the entire lease balance . they wanted over 10,000 bucks from my ex and then changed it to whenever they re-rent it they will bill her for the down time.... its only because my son knew how to play the game and was aware of legal loopholes that he was able to get her out of paying the lease balance. typically though each building and landlord will have a different idea as to how they want to do it. best thing is consult an attorney well versed in nyc laws.
realize that had the managing agent responded to the initial notice of the keys being surrendered and said no we dont accept those terms then she would have been liable for the entire lease or at least until it was re-rented...
you can also try telling them your going to file bankruptsey. most landlords want no part of a bankruptsey eviction as a sympethetic judge may actually let them stay in the apartment rent free while the bankruptsey is preceeding
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-12-2008 at 03:19 AM..
Thanks. There is no managing agent for my building. It is owned by a "small" landlord who also lives in the neighborhood, so it's possible he may be willing to let me out of it if I discussed it with him. I may not move so I won't say anything until I know for sure. But my lease is one of those boilerplate leases that says I would be liable for the remaining rent. Lucky for me I have attorneys in the family.
I don't think the landlord will have trouble renting a nice one-bedroom for that price or even more, assuming it's not far from the subway. When I moved out of my apartment in Astoria recently, my landlord raised the rent and still had her pick of tenants.
actually they can hold you to the entire lease balance . they wanted over 10,000 bucks from my ex and then changed it to whenever they re-rent it they will bill her for the down time.... its only because my son knew how to play the game and was aware of legal loopholes that he was able to get her out of paying the lease balance. typically though each building and landlord will have a different idea as to how they want to do it. best thing is consult an attorney well versed in nyc laws.
Yes, I can see, that, I read the court papers...
I guess I have been lucky, but I always try to be kind and helpfull with my LL. That always help, and I always explain why I am leaving.
Quote:
realize that had the managing agent responded to the initial notice of the keys being surrendered and said no we dont accept those terms then she would have been liable for the entire lease or at least until it was re-rented...
Yes, it is a nice trick, that I will always remember..
Quote:
you can also try telling them your going to file bankruptsey. most landlords want no part of a bankruptsey eviction as a sympethetic judge may actually let them stay in the apartment rent free while the bankruptsey is preceeding
HEHEHEHE,, nice one...
But right now I we are not leave our current place.
Thanks. There is no managing agent for my building. It is owned by a "small" landlord who also lives in the neighborhood, so it's possible he may be willing to let me out of it if I discussed it with him. I may not move so I won't say anything until I know for sure. But my lease is one of those boilerplate leases that says I would be liable for the remaining rent. Lucky for me I have attorneys in the family.
Also you can find another tenant, start looking for another person to take over your lease
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