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IN SHORT: Is it legal to sublet the room with different terms than the one you have? (New Jersey)
LONG:
I found out that the tenant that is subletting me a room in a house.
He has a month-to-month lease with 60 days notice.
But the agreement (word document printout) we signed has a year long term. And it says I am responsible for remaining if I move out early.
Paid First months + Last months + Deposit
800 + 800 + 1000 = 2600
Fast forward 9 months, I am buying a house and want to move out. Gave him a heads up and he flipped out.
Although I agreed to post ads all over and try to find someone to replace me.
He became sort of a friend over 9 months but he is being slow with responding people. Not letting me know if a person I found is good to go or unqualified.
Also smokes with the neighbor next door which I complained about.
Calls me selfish, seeking out my own gain but he also seeks to cover his own as well.
So you guessed right, I want out of the place with minimal damage.
At this point, future friendship probably won't work out.
So is it even legal to sublet the room with different terms than the one you have?
IN SHORT: Is it legal to sublet the room with different terms than the one you have? (New Jersey)
LONG:
I found out that the tenant that is subletting me a room in a house.
He has a month-to-month lease with 60 days notice.
But the agreement (word document printout) we signed has a year long term. And it says I am responsible for remaining if I move out early.
Paid First months + Last months + Deposit
800 + 800 + 1000 = 2600
Fast forward 9 months, I am buying a house and want to move out. Gave him a heads up and he flipped out.
Although I agreed to post ads all over and try to find someone to replace me.
He became sort of a friend over 9 months but he is being slow with responding people. Not letting me know if a person I found is good to go or unqualified.
Also smokes with the neighbor next door which I complained about.
Calls me selfish, seeking out my own gain but he also seeks to cover his own as well.
So you guessed right, I want out of the place with minimal damage.
At this point, future friendship probably won't work out.
So is it even legal to sublet the room with different terms than the one you have?
IN SHORT: Is it legal to sublet the room with different terms than the one you have? (New Jersey)
LONG:
I found out that the tenant that is subletting me a room in a house.
He has a month-to-month lease with 60 days notice.
But the agreement (word document printout) we signed has a year long term. And it says I am responsible for remaining if I move out early.
Paid First months + Last months + Deposit
800 + 800 + 1000 = 2600
Fast forward 9 months, I am buying a house and want to move out. Gave him a heads up and he flipped out.
Although I agreed to post ads all over and try to find someone to replace me.
He became sort of a friend over 9 months but he is being slow with responding people. Not letting me know if a person I found is good to go or unqualified.
Also smokes with the neighbor next door which I complained about.
Calls me selfish, seeking out my own gain but he also seeks to cover his own as well.
So you guessed right, I want out of the place with minimal damage.
At this point, future friendship probably won't work out.
So is it even legal to sublet the room with different terms than the one you have?
First of.. is it even a legal sublease? Does the home owner know your friend is subleasing to you and know the term?
So you paid 9 months and he has a little over 3 months worth of (rent+security). If I were you.. stop paying rent.
Ignore the lease that your landlord (the tenant) has with his landlord (the landlord of the property). You signed a one year lease with your landlord (the tenant), and that is binding. If it turns out that your landlord (the tenant) can't perform due to his lease with his landlord (the landlord of the property) ending before your lease, then he is in breach. But just ignore that noise- his lease is of no consequence in this case. It is fully legal to sublet with whatever terms you both arrive at between yourselves. It is his duty to continue the month-to-month lease with his own landlord, but assuming he does, you are not at all impacted by his lease. If his lease doesn't allow subletting, you still have an enforceable contract but he may be in breach if you become unable to access the property. Again, this is just noise and has no bearing on your ultimate question.
Although the issue sounds complex, it's actually pretty simple- you want to break a 12 month lease after 9 months. This is easy. Anywhere in the country, you can break a lease early no matter what the contract says, so long as you provide a suitable alternative tenant. The mechanism at play here is that you have a duty to mitigate damages after you've breached your contract. You can do so by finding a suitable alternative tenant.
Your landlord (the tenant) can be annoying about who he accepts as a suitable alternative since he has to live with the person, but as long as the replacement tenant that you offer him has the same or higher income, and the same or higher credit score/history, and other small factors like criminal background etc. then you've met your end of the bargain. If he tries to sue you, all you have to do is show that you provided a comparable replacement for your obligation and he won't be able to collect. You will be on the hook if the replacement is late on rent, but only for the original term of your lease (the next 3 months). If you offer a suitable replacement and he doesn't accept, then you are NOT responsible for missed leased payments, as you have attempted to mitigate your damages and he chose not to accept.
The hardest thing to do in these situations is to remove all of the emotion, but that's what needs to happen. At the heart of it, this is a simple business transaction.
So you paid 9 months and he has a little over 3 months worth of (rent+security). If I were you.. stop paying rent.
Not really. 1st month rent was already used the 1st month.
Last month rent will be used for the last 30 days living there. You simply stop paying when you give your 30 day notice and because the last month was already pre-paid. Make sure to give the landlord this reminder when you give 30 day notice, so they remember that you already paid for that month.
Then you have the security deposit to get back. You need to give the landlord your new address. Then he/she has X days to give you a list of deductions from your security deposit (or return your deposit). If you still have 2 months left on the lease when you move out, then you should pay the rent each month on the normal due date until your lease expires, or until a replacement renter moves in, whichever occurs first.
You only have 3 more months on the lease. When will you move to your new home? Maybe you only leave 1.5 months early?
Hopefully they can find a replacement renter to move in shortly after you leave.
You only have 3 more months on the lease. When will you move to your new home? Maybe you only leave 1.5 months early?
Hopefully they can find a replacement renter to move in shortly after you leave.
This...I was wondering when the closing was scheduled for? Buying a home usually isn't like a lease where you look at the place and move in two weeks later. Typically a lease break fee is 2 months rent anyway, and considering he has his last month's rent, that leaves you on the hook for 1 month rent. I would stroke him a check for one month's rent and be done with it.
I might offer that, and if he gives you any more problems about it, I would tell him to pound sand and let him sue you if he wants.
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