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I am in the process of terminating my lease and finding a new tenant to take my spot. my landlord is charging me attorney fees for a new lease? Is this normal? how much would something like this cost?
Yes, it's so unusual I've never heard of it! If you are planning on subleasing your apartment (something I would never recommend) a simple sublease agreement is a one-pager which simply notes the basic details of name and address of the sublessee and confirms that all the terms of the original lease (which are attached to it) are understood and agreed to.
If you're merely helping the landlord find a new tenant, he makes up a new lease which he presents to that new tenant. Under none of these instances does the departing tenant pay for the landlord's paperwork. Ridiculous!
I am in the process of terminating my lease and finding a new tenant to take my spot. my landlord is charging me attorney fees for a new lease? Is this normal? how much would something like this cost?
Expect the landlord to try and get as much money out of you as possible. This is a garbage fee. When you see the landlord next expect him to tell you to empty your pockets and give him all your money.
But to answer your question, this should cost $0. But with your landlord it will cost as much as the landlord can sucker you into paying.
It does not say anything in the lease about attorney fees if I wish to terminate the lease. So do I have to pay them?
Attorney's fees are borne by the person who incurs them unless a case (an eviction for instance) goes to court and the judge awards costs to the prevailing party. Your LL is an ass and doesn't have a legal leg to stand on.
You need to carefully read your lease and what it says about "early termination" and also read your state landlord tenant laws about security deposits (see first sticky on this forum page for a link to these state laws). Your LL cannot keep your security deposit arbitrarily. Within a certain period of time after quit (usually 30 days, read your state's law) your security deposit must be returned to you and any deductions made for damages other than normal wear and tear have to be documented in writing.
Unless it's stipulated in your lease your LL cannot charge you for his attorney fees.
Maybe you should consult with an attorney yourself and, if that's beyond your financial means, consult with someone from Legal Aid in your community.
You need to carefully read your lease and what it says about "early termination" and also read your state landlord tenant laws about security deposits (see first sticky on this forum page for a link to these state laws). Your LL cannot keep your security deposit arbitrarily. Within a certain period of time after quit (usually 30 days, read your state's law) your security deposit must be returned to you and any deductions made for damages other than normal wear and tear have to be documented in writing.
Unless it's stipulated in your lease your LL cannot charge you for his attorney fees.
Maybe you should consult with an attorney yourself and, if that's beyond your financial means, consult with someone from Legal Aid in your community.
there is no information in the lease regarding early termination. It does say that I cannot sublease without written consent of the landlord.
With all due respect, this is the second thread you've started on essentially the same subject. You want to break your lease because your apartment is noisy (previous thread). Your LL apparently won't allow you to sublet (previous thread). If he has now proposed a month's rent in lieu of notice, this is very acceptable since there is no early termination clause in your lease.
However, this is entirely separate from the issue of attorney's fees and the return of the security deposit. You've been given good advice and resources but it's now all on you to proceed accordingly. Good luck.
It would be nice if I could just talk to him on the phone. He wont give me his number. We are communicating through email. I dont even know his name. I can only speak with his assisntant who has no idea whats going on.
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