Breaking a Sublease Early

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

You guys have brought up a good point, in the main tenant possibly not having the right to sublet.

If that's the case, then your contract is not enforceable. So, that's the way you can break your lease, legally, without penalty.

It's my opinion, you'll still have to pay him rent for any days you lived there. But, you could break the lease tomorrow without getting stuck with any further rent, in my opinion, if you could prove he/she was illegally renting to you.

[kevinspacey]

Thanks again for your all of your input.
How would you guys suggest I get my hands on/check the lease agreement between my roommate (the primary renter) and the property owner/building manager?

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by kevinspacey

Thanks again for your all of your input.
How would you guys suggest I get my hands on/check the lease agreement between my roommate (the primary renter) and the property owner/building manager?

Well, you wouldn't really need a copy of the lease. You just need to know if the tenant has permission to sublet to you. So, you could call and ask. If they say "no," then ask them for their email address. Then email them and just say, "I'm just verifying that you told me that so and so does not have permission to sublet to me. Would you please just acknowledge this email agreeing to the above?" Or something to that effect.

You'd just need something in writing from the manager saying the tenant doesn't have permission to rent to you. If they ask you why, just say you want to get out of the lease with the tenant, and if you have to sue him you want proof he didn't have permission.

Of course, if they tell you over the phone that he does have permission, there you go. No need for a copy of the lease either way.

[FC76-81]

Originally Posted by kevinspacey

Thanks again for your all of your input.
How would you guys suggest I get my hands on/check the lease agreement between my roommate (the primary renter) and the property owner/building manager?

If it's a apartment complex, if you have friends who live in other units, you could ask them if they know what theirs says in regards to the issue at hand. Pretty sure agreement for all tenants are the same in regards to policies and procedures. Another option is if there is a unit available, make a call to the property owner/building manager and ask questions about the unit, along with asking about the policy in regards to subleasing and/or residents who do not appear on the lease agreement.

Is there a website for the property owner/building management? Asking because a lot of property owners are now utilizing third party management services. There is a possibility that the topic may be mentioned/discussed on their website.

Another option is if you are planning to move out anyways, try and meet up with the property owner/building manager on the property and ask them about it. I say this because the chick friend who I had who was in the similar situation, that's basically what she did, ran into the building manager since he was living in one of the units of the building. But if this is the route you plan to take, I'd do so if the person you are renting from starts to play hard ball by demanding that you pay all kinds of penalties and fees.

Perhaps others can chime in on how to go about finding out this information.

But I feel ya in regards to finding yourself living with a mess of a roommate. I had a very similar situation with my sister and her husband 20 years ago. They leased a three bedroom townhome and one of her husband's friends needed a place to stay. Dead giveaway that this was going to be a train wreck is the guy was ten years older then the rest of us and he was being booted from his parents place. I had lived there for about a year before he moved in. One day he moved in cause her husband asked us all if it would be ok. We said sure but not even a month later we knew it was a very bad decision. I only seen the guy filling the sink up with trash and dirty dishes, never cleaning anything. I had to share a bathroom with him and I'd come home from work and muddy tennis shoes would be in the shower and he'd never even flush the toilet after dropping a grizz. like he was proud of his creation and wanted others to see it. Plus he ran the house since he was older than we all were. He'd decide what station the tv would be on, etc. etc. etc. I had enough and moved out. On the day I moved out, I took a half day off from work to move out and I come home like at 11am and the guy is sitting in just his underwear two feet from the TV playing video games.

That was a little more then 20 years ago and I've not had a roommate since. I'll get a girlfriend or a wife to live with me before I ever get a plain roommate. That's how completely bitter that experience has left me.

[atr1985]

Just ask your roommate for a copy of the master lease. That should get your point across pretty clearly. He'll either A.) realize that he needs to get his act together and address your concerns; B.) refuse to show the lease (which would indicate he has no right to sublet if he's unwilling to share that); or C.) show you the lease and his right to sublet.

Honestly, either way, the odds of him taking action against you would be pretty low. An individual is likely to be more concerned with finding a new roommate than going to court. The only negative is you wouldn't have a great reference for this period (which at least in SF is good to have), but you'd likely not have that anyhow breaking the lease early legally or illegally.