It’s important to be aware of the potential consequences of breaking a lease early. While you may not have any other option but to break your lease, you may find yourself: 1 Facing a lawsuit by your landlord – A lease is a legal contract. That means your landlord is within their legal right to pursue you in court for remaining rental payments, as well as damages for loss of income and the cost of finding a new tenant. 2 Paying out of pocket – Lease agreements often include penalties and fees for breaking a lease. Most commonly, early termination fees are two months’ rent. Various state laws limit the maximum amount a landlord can charge, so be sure to check your state’s legislation on the matter. 3 Losing your security deposit – In addition to possible early termination fees, you’ll most certainly have to forfeit the security deposit you paid when you first moved in. Be prepared for this loss of money as it’ll impact your new apartment hunt. 4 Damaging your credit score – On top of all monetary consequences, most renters don’t realize that breaking a lease can negatively affect their credit score. Landlords and property management groups will often report your rental history to credit scoring agencies, and breaking a lease is considered a significant black mark. Having a poor credit score will make it more difficult to rent an apartment in the future.
If you’re having trouble negotiating a clean break with your landlord, consider finding a new renter to either relet or sublet the property. Finding a replacement on your own is a great way to alleviate your landlord’s fears about losing money when you move out.
Subletting: Similar to reletting, subletting is when you find a new renter to take over your lease, and they pay rent to you directly.
Once you’ve exhausted all your options, the last recourse is to pay off the rent for the remainder of your lease period. It isn’t always financially feasible for most people, but it’s the only guaranteed way to avoid paying a penalty for breaking a lease. If you’re worried about paying everything off at once, discuss with your landlord about the possibility of paying off the balance in installments.
Zachary Vickers is a staff writer for Legal Templates. Previously, he served as an editor for a team of investigative and legal journalists. His legal advice has been featured across the web —...
Breaking a Lease. A written lease or rental agreement is a binding contract between you and your landlord. While you may have valid reasons for wanting to get out of your lease (for example, you're moving because of a job, marriage or divorce, or the apartment is severely damaged), breaking a lease is still a breach of contract, ...
A written lease or rental agreement is a binding contract between you and your landlord. While you may have valid reasons for wanting to get out of your lease (for example, you're moving because of a job, marriage or divorce, or the apartment is severely damaged), breaking a lease is still a breach of contract, so you could be penalized.
Rocket Lawyer is not a law firm or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. The law is complex and changes often. For legal advice, please ask a lawyer.
This article contains general legal information and does not contain legal advice. Rocket Lawyer is not a law firm or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. The law is complex and changes often. For legal advice, please ask a lawyer.
If you don’t have a reason outlined in law, however, you may be allowed to break a lease, but your landlord is also allowed to impose a financial penalty. It could be a percentage of your remaining rent. At most, you could owe the remainder of your rent for the rest of the lease.
The landlord tenant laws that allow you to break a lease are different from state to state. In many places, you can get out of your lease without penalty for a number of reasons, such as domestic violence, an unsafe environment, or if you’ve been called up for military service.
You can get out of a lease—but it's smart to do it the right way. You have the renters right to break a lease. No matter the reason, you’re never forced to live anywhere you no longer want to. It’s not always cheap, but it is always possible.
If you don’t pay it, you could face a lawsuit, a ding on your credit report, and the loss of your security deposit. That’s pretty dire, but there’s a big loophole. Most states require the landlord to actively seek ...
It’s in your best interest to help your landlord find a new tenant. Once someone new is in your rental, you’re off the hook for the remaining rent due in your lease. If it’s a hot market, your landlord might be able to rent out your place quickly.
If you're going to break a lease, understand your rights and your risks . No landlord or tenant wants to deal with the hassles that come with breaking a lease. If you think you have a legally valid reason to break your lease, contact your local renters’ rights organization, or a lawyer to find out the laws pertinent to breaking your lease in your ...
If you break the lease you incur fees as outlined in the early termination clause. The clause may require you to pay one to two months’ rent, or to pay the rent for as long as it takes to find another tenant to sign a lease on the apartment, leaving you with a hefty bill to pay.
It is possible to break a lease without penalty under special circumstances, including if the apartment is uninhabitable and your landlord refuses to make repairs (you’ll need evidence of this), if you become seriously ill, or if you are deployed or relocated by the military. Depending on your reasons for breaking your lease, ...
While not a well-known option, a lease-breaking service may work well as a last resort —that is if you live in New York City. Leasebreak, launched in 2013, helps tenants renegotiate rental contracts and connects renters with other renters wanting to sign a short-term lease.
Most landlords won’t be able to report the terminated lease directly to a credit reporting agency, but they can sue you in small claims court for breaking the contract. This could result in a civil judgment which is considered a debt and appears as a negative strike on your credit report.
And while you may think giving what you consider sufficient notice (e.g., 30–60 days) should allow you to break the lease, you are still responsible for paying the rent until the term ends or until the landlord finds a tenant.
No landlord or tenant wants to deal with the hassles that come with breaking a lease. If you think you have a legally valid reason to break your lease, contact your local renters’ rights organization, or a lawyer to find out the laws pertinent to breaking your lease in your state.
While breaking a lease is generally a big no-no, sometimes there’s no way around it. Life happens, and certain circumstances might warrant getting out of your rental situation. “ Breaking a lease can be complicated, and it can be costly,” says Dylan Lenz, CEO of Naborly, a modern-day property management software for landlords.
break lease lease agreements tenant rights. Anayat Durrani is a freelance education reporter for U.S. News and World Report. Her work has been featured in Military Officer, California Lawyer, the American Scholar, and PracticeLink magazines.
These include: Landlord could sue tenant for rent owed. 1 . Landlord could sue tenant for breach of contract and damages. 2 .
In most states, if the landlord fails to fix a significant health or safety violation, not just a simple repair, the tenant may be legally allowed to break the lease agreement. To break the lease, the tenant would have to provide the landlord with written notice of the tenant's intention to terminate the lease agreement.
The lease agreement is a contract between landlord and tenant where the tenant agrees to live in the rental property for a set period of time. Although the tenant may have had every intention of remaining in the rental for the entire length of the lease, situations come up that may force the tenant to move out earlier.
Must provide this notice at least 30 days prior to desired date of termination. Some states require more than 30 days ’ notice. The tenant is only responsible for paying rent up until the date of lease termination.
If it turns out that the apartment a tenant was renting was not a legal rental unit, the tenant can terminate the lease agreement without penalty. State laws will vary, but the tenant is often entitled to the return of at least a portion of the rent they have paid over the life of their lease.
Landlord Violates Rules of Entry or Harasses Tenant. A landlord must usually give at least 24 hours’ notice before the landlord has the right to enter the tenant’s rental unit. In addition, the landlord must have a legal reason to enter the apartment, such as: To Inspect the Unit. To Make Repairs.
A landlord must usually give at least 24 hours’ notice before the landlord has the right to enter the tenant’s rental unit. In addition, the landlord must have a legal reason to enter the apartment, such as: To Inspect the Unit. To Make Repairs. To Show the Unit to Prospective Tenants 9 .