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I was told if I didn't pay it up front it was as though we were still renting the apt...meaning if a pipe should burst, or someone tripped ect... we would still be liable!
He also said if he rented the place we would get our money back...but as someone else has said how would we have proof...I am not holding my breath!
Have you asked if you can break the lease if you find a suitable tenant? I have had people advertise and show the apartment, present me with the application and basically do all the leg work.
Sheesh, some of these LLs are GREEDY and frankly quite desperate. I feel for you.
here is a heads up for you landlords.......27 years as a landlord in nyc has taught me a whole lot and gives you a good education as to how the laws on the books really are only in place to protect tenants not landlords.
Holy Moly! That post was great! I definitely learned something new today.
So uuhhh.. buddy... you got a mailing list or something I can sign up for?
I was told if I didn't pay it up front it was as though we were still renting the apt...meaning if a pipe should burst, or someone tripped ect... we would still be liable!
He also said if he rented the place we would get our money back...but as someone else has said how would we have proof...I am not holding my breath!
You were responsible if the pipe's burst? What kind of crazy lease did you sign?
no, no pipes HAVE burst...but if they did we would be held responsible. We signed a lease that said we would pay for the terms of the lease. apparently if we did find somebody they would have to go through the whole application process like we did, and we don't know anybody anyway
It is what it is...lesson learned! I should add we aren't spending a lot of money on rent...or I would hire a lawyer. Lesson learned is you get what you pay for!
Our lease also has a clause in it that says a tenant can break the lease with normal notice given and a 2 month's worth of rent penalty. We've never actually charged a tenant for the full 2 months, usually more like 1 month as a thank you in being cooperative for showings to try to rerent.
I have no issue with a tenant breaking a lease and paying the agreed to consequences. The problem is that most tenants are not willing to do so. They want to move with no penalties at all.
Screening out a potential tenant who does not have enough savings to cover the cost of breaking a lease is a great practice for a landlord. When you buy a house, you have to show proof of your ability to pay a mortgage or enough funds to pay cash. When you rent, you should be able to show enough funds to break the lease if needed. If you can't afford it, then you should probably look for a more affordable place.
Things change: divorce or death of a spouse, job loss, etc. No one can predict what's going to happen three or six months down the line.
Things change: divorce or death of a spouse, job loss, etc. No one can predict what's going to happen three or six months down the line.
^^This^^ Several years ago I had a run of bad luck...Being just out of school, I had built up something of an emergency fund, over three months rent, actually. Then I rear ended another driver, and paid out of pocket (The accident would have severely hampered my employment prospects, or so I thought at the time) followed by an emergency room visit that insurance didn't cover followed by an expensive dental procedure that couldn't wait. Guess What? Next month I was pulling oddjobs off of Craigslist to keep the lights on and If something came up where I had to move for whatever reason, you can bet that I would have been reading every bit of fine print and state statute to get out of paying money that I didn't have.
^^This^^ Several years ago I had a run of bad luck...Being just out of school, I had built up something of an emergency fund, over three months rent, actually. Then I rear ended another driver, and paid out of pocket (The accident would have severely hampered my employment prospects, or so I thought at the time) followed by an emergency room visit that insurance didn't cover followed by an expensive dental procedure that couldn't wait. Guess What? Next month I was pulling oddjobs off of Craigslist to keep the lights on and If something came up where I had to move for whatever reason, you can bet that I would have been reading every bit of fine print and state statute to get out of paying money that I didn't have.
When you have a run of bad luck, which certainly can legitimately happen to anyone, its probably not a good idea to move. Add to all the stress described above a new security deposit and first month's rent at a different place. If you are pulling odd jobs off of Craigslist, why add to your burden with moving expenses? All this is of course hypothetical.
If you signed something that says "here is how you get out of this" and then don't want to or can't honor that, its a different issue than being told "you can't ever under any circumstances get out of this."
there are legal ways to break leases and the landlord isn't even aware he is being set up.
in states that have surrender and control laws a shrewed tenant can generally get out of a lease at most building complexes by using a tactic called "surrender and control "that goes right under the radar.
usually office workers at the management office are not very well skilled in the law.
a shrewd tenant sends the office a return receipt letter notifying them on such and such a date they will be breakng their lease and SURRENDERING THE KEYS and gives them an address to mail their security deposit to.
like most offices the workers will just file it away and not respond yet.
well when that day comes , just surrender the keys to them as you outlined in your letter and off you go.
of course they will try to charge you for breaking the lease or until it is re-rented and that is when they find out they were out smarted .
the word SURRENDER in many states is a very powerful legal word. in ny operation of law the word surrender is so powerful it can over ride leases and contracts as a key surrender which is accepted even un-knowingly overides the lease terms as a new contract which the landlord accepted the terms of by not rejecting it or accepting the keys back...
once you have accepted the tenants terms of surrender by not responding and saying no your not or accepting the keys the tenant is off the hook.
of course once a shrewdy who knows how to work the laws does this to an office the office usually is alot smarter if they see this ploy again being done so it really only works once before they get wiser.
other tactics are by using the "CONTROL " portion of "SURRENDER AND CONTROL" this can apply in far more states than "surrender"
when a tenant breaks a lease and moves out the landlord usually goes in and starts to renovate and paint so they can re-rent. they also try to charge the tenant until the place is re-rented.
well under most state law a little know fact is a landlord cannot have it both ways. he can not claim he is holding you to the lease and it is still your apartment yet take control of your apartment and fix it up to re-rent for himself..
if done correctly the landlord can have it both ways but it is never done correctly . the landlord needs to get written authorization from the tenant allowing him to mitigate the tenants damages by fixing and repainting and re-renting but on his own the landlord is deemed to have taken control of the apartment back from the tenant if he does this on his own.
at best the tenant would only be responsible for the few days prior to them going in and "taking control" by starting work.
a good lawyer skilled in breaking leases has an arsenal behind them. most of the tactics a landlord won't even see coming.
27 years as a landlord in nyc has taught me a whole lot and gives you a good education as to how the laws on the books really are only in place to protect tenants not landlords.
Mathjak, I think you're complicating a really simple law. If the tenant doesn't surrender possession of the unit, and/or the LL doesn't take over possession of the unit, in some states, the LL can sit on his thumb and continue to collect rent. The LL does not have a duty to mitigate damages.
In some states, where a LL is not required to mitigate damages, if the LL takes back possession of the lease, the lease is broken. However, from what I've read on these laws in these states, the LL still gets to collect rent until he gets the place rented, with reasonable effort. By taking possession, the LL just basically then is under a law with a duty to mitigate at that point..
But, I guess you're basically saying that some tenants learn this law, so they can't be held liable for the full amount of the rent until the end of the lease.
Well, I say good for the tenant who figured this out. States that don't required landlords to mitigate damages have bad laws, IMO.
In states where the LL is required to mitigate damages, a tenant is allowed to break the lease, and the LL has to try to re-rent the place with reasonable effort. This seems immensely more fair, which is why most states have adopted a LL's duty to mitigate.
Sorry, if you feel you were ripped off when a tenant had to break a lease, and you took over possession, and had to try to re-rent your unit with reasonable effort - instead of just sitting back and collecting rent... but that's infinitely more fair. Otherwise, a tenant is like some kind of medieval serf.
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