what kind of lawyer do i need to break a lease

If you have any questions regarding your right to terminate a lease, you should consult with a skilled and knowledgeable landlord tenant lawyer in your area. An experienced and local real estate attorney can look over your lease and explain to you what your legal options are.

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When should you hire a lawyer for apartment lease issues?

If you have any questions regarding your right to terminate a lease, you should consult with a skilled and knowledgeable landlord tenant lawyer in your area. An experienced and local real estate attorney can look over your lease and explain to you what your legal options are.

How can a real estate attorney help me with a lease?

In some states, serious illness or injury, or the need to move to an assisted living facility because of illness/injury, is condition enough to let you break your lease. Check with your state's laws to see what your rights are. You can find and create legal documents quickly and easily with Rocket Lawyer's online interviews.

How to avoid legal consequences when breaking a lease?

Oct 13, 2021 · Read 1 Answer from lawyers to What kind of lawyer do I need to help break a lease? - Ohio Contracts Questions & Answers - Justia Ask a Lawyer ... What kind of lawyer do I need to help break a lease? Covid related. Mother was in hospital. Doctors requiring first floor instead of third floor apartment.

Can a landlord sue a tenant for breaking a commercial lease?

Residential Lease Attorney. A residential lease is a specific type of legal agreement that is entered into when a tenant rents property from a landlord to use for residential purposes (i.e., living). Similar to other lease agreements, a residential lease will contain the terms and conditions of the lease, such as the date that the lease expires and how often the tenant will need to pay …

What is a broken lease?

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, ...

Can you cancel a lease without penalty?

You've been called to active duty in the military. If you signed the lease before being called up, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act lets you cancel your lease without penalty.

Do you have to pay rent for a year?

Remember, if you have a fixed lease (usually for a year), you're usually obligated to pay rent for the entire year. This means if your landlord can't find a replacement tenant immediately, or loses rent because of your move, you'll probably have to pay the difference.

Is Rocket Lawyer 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.

What to do if you have trouble negotiating a clean break with your landlord?

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.

What questions should I ask my landlord about my lease?

Be on the lookout for answers to these critical questions: 1 Does your lease agreement have an early termination clause? 2 Has there been a breach of contract by your landlord that would justify breaking the lease? (Ex: Entering without notice, No maintenance, etc.) 3 Will you lose your security deposit? 4 Are you required to find your replacement? 5 Can you sublet? 6 Will you need to pay the remaining rent for the entire lease period?

Who is Zachary Vickers?

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 —...

What is a subletting agreement?

Subletting: Similar to reletting, subletting is when you find a new renter to take over your lease, and they pay rent to you directly.

Can you pay off rent for the remainder of your lease?

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.

Can a landlord sue you for breaking a lease?

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. Paying out of pocket – Lease agreements often include penalties and fees for breaking a lease.

Can you break a lease?

Breaking a lease can have significant legal repercussions, as a lease agreement is a binding contract. Yet sometimes it’s just not feasible to stay in your apartment or house any longer. There are ways to get out of a lease. Understanding what happens if you break a lease will help you minimize costly ramifications that may occur ...

What are the requirements for a residential lease?

There are certain items that every residential lease must contain, such as the name of the parties, the length of the tenancy, the amount of rent that is due each month, and so forth. However, there are some important provisions that the parties should include like the following: 1 Rules about having pets; 2 Restrictions on illegal activities; 3 Whether the landlord or the tenant will be responsible for repairs and maintenance; 4 Whether a tenant needs to obtain a renters insurance policy; 5 Whether the tenant is allowed to operate a business on the property; 6 Rules concerning smoking policies and other potentially disruptive activities like noise; 7 Clear terms regarding when a landlord is permitted to enter the premises; 8 Instructions concerning what a tenant must do to sublet their apartment and whether or not the landlord even permits sublets; and/or 9 Notice requirements and if there is an option to renew the lease.

What to do if tenant has not moved out?

If the tenant has not completely moved out by the time the residential lease expires, but they have breached the lease, then the landlord may call the county sheriff’s department or other law enforcement agency in the area to remove the tenant and any of their belongings .

What is residential lease?

A residential lease is a specific type of legal agreement that is entered into when a tenant rents property from a landlord to use for residential purposes (i.e., living). Similar to other lease agreements, a residential lease will contain the terms and conditions of the lease, such as the date that the lease expires and how often ...

How long does a commercial lease last?

Oftentimes, the contracting parties will enter into a commercial lease agreement for as long as several years. This is in direct contrast to the standards of a residential lease, which are normally for one year or less.

Can a landlord keep a security deposit?

The landlord may also keep the original tenant’s security deposit to make up for the loss of rent and to make repairs if necessary.

What happens if rent is too high?

This is so that if the landlord raises the rent too high, then the tenant will still have time to look for a new apartment before their lease expires. The landlord must also approve a tenant’s request to renew their lease.

How long does it take to renew a lease?

However, the tenant will usually know one to three months in advance of the lease’s end date if they will have to move or not.

What happens if you break your lease?

If you've broken your lease and taken off, expect to lose a month's rent. Even if state law requires your landlord to mitigate, most judges give landlords a month of rent as damages, no matter how quickly they advertised and showed the unit—or how quickly they could have rented it if they had tried.

What to do if your landlord violates your lease?

Again, if you believe your landlord has violated your right to quiet enjoyment of your rental, consider consulting a local landlord-tenant attorney before you move out. Active Military Service. In all states, tenants who enter active military service have the right to leave before the lease term ends without a penalty.

What are the duties of a landlord?

Fortunately, in most states, landlords cannot simply sit back and wait for the term to end, then sue you for the rent due after you left. Instead, landlords must take reasonable steps to rerent your former place and, if they are successful in rerenting, credit rent received from the new tenant to your debt. In legalese, this duty is called the landlord's duty to mitigate damages. Before you make the move, check your state law on landlord's duty to rerent (that is, to mitigate damages). This tenant-friendly rule has some limitations, however: 1 Landlords can sometimes hold tenants responsible for the costs of advertising and showing the unit. 2 Landlords must take reasonable steps to rerent, not heroic ones. Landlords don't have to give special priority to a unit in order to rerent it, nor do they have to lower the rent for the unit. 3 Landlords don't have to accept any applicant who walks in the door. Instead, landlords attempting to mitigate their damages need only to apply the same application criteria they used when they rented to the original tenant. Still, you can help the situation a lot by offering your landlord a replacement tenant, someone who has the same good credit and rental history that you did (or better).

What happens when a lease is over?

When the fixed amount of time (the "term" of the lease) is over, the lease ends. At this point, one of a few things can happen: the tenant moves out. the landlord and tenant sign a new lease, with the same or different terms. the tenant stays in the rental with the landlord's approval, creating a new tenancy (in most states, ...

How long does a military lease last?

Once the landlord receives notice, a month-to-month tenancy will end 30 days after the day that rent is next due.

What is the landlord's duty to mitigate damages?

Instead, landlords must take reasonable steps to rerent your former place and, if they are successful in rerenting, credit rent received from the new tenant to your debt. In legalese, this duty is called the landlord's duty to mitigate damages.

Do landlords have to rerent when a tenant breaks a lease?

Most Landlords Must Try to Rerent When a Tenant Breaks a Lease. Let's start with the basics: Your lease is a contract, obligating you to pay rent for the entire term. The fact that you pay in monthly installments doesn't change the fact that you owe the landlord for the entire amount. So if you split early, what's to stop ...

What happens if you break your lease?

Consequences for Breaking Your Lease. Your landlord may sue you in small claims court for the rent owed and any out-of-pocket damages they may have incurred. The burden is on the tenant to show that the landlord did not make any effort towards re-renting the unit and therefore is not entitled to additional rent.

Why do commercial tenants have to break leases?

Many commercial tenants need to break their leases because they are unable to operate due to COVID-19 shelter-in-place laws. Below are a few common clauses tenants should look for in their agreement that may release them from their contract.

What is a commercial lease clause?

Many commercial leases contain clauses that waive a tenants right to terminate and limit the tenant’s remedies for a default by the landlord to monetary damages and/or injunction. Courts honor these clauses and will not permit a tenant the defense of constructive eviction if the landlord pursues the defaulting tenant for rent.

What is the implied warranty of habitability?

Habitability: All residential rental agreements contain an “implied warranty of habitability”, which means that your landlord has a duty to make sure that, at a bare minimum, the unit is free of vermin, has adequate heating, plumbing, and electricity, and has hot and cold water. Under certain extreme circumstances, ...

How long does a landlord have to keep a security deposit?

Since most tenants are protected from eviction during the governor-declared state of emergency, your landlord may agree to keep your security deposit, which typically equals one to two months rent, to terminate the agreement rather than deal with a tenant who is not able to pay rent and who cannot be evicted.

Can you move out without paying rent?

In many cases tenants will have a legal reason based on their landlord’s acts or failures to act to move out without any further payment of rent. If breaches by your landlord are pervasive and severe enough, you will be able to not just move out penalty-free but also sue your landlord for a constructive eviction.

What is a nuisance in a house?

Nuisance: Neighbor disputes are common, but some may be so extreme that they rise to the level of a nuisance. Excessive noise or smoking by other tenants in the building are common nuisances that, if not stopped by your landlord, could force you out of your home.