Breach of Lease (breaking a lease, tenant, renters, deposit)

[misslady1000]

I rented a house about 3 months ago in which I signed a 2 year lease. However, I only lived there 2 months and had to move out and move in with my parents to be a caregiver for my father- who was diagnosed with dementia. Up until now, I've had a spotless reference and history with renting. The landlord did not stipulate or require a deposit at move in. We have determined there was no damage to property for which I'm responsible. Within 2 weeks of moving out the landlord listed the property for sale and now wants me to pay 22 months of rent (to fullfill 24 month lease). Is this legal? Do I have any recourse? Thanks!

[FreeSpirited1]

The landlord can charge you. The lease is a legally binding contract and though I've been let out of a lease, legally twice, it was dire circumstances. In one case, I filed a restraining order against the man I moved in with, and in the second case, they didn't like that I'd written in a 2 page letter all the maintenance issues - including acrobat ants, which fly and bite

You may want to post this or the moderator may move it to the General Moving Issues forum.

Your best option is to spend every spare minute you can letting people you know (who are responsible renters) that you need someone to take over your lease.

If you are not successful, yes, your landlord can take you to court and will likely receive a judgment in his favor, because you signed for 2 years. Sorry but unless you can gain extreme empathy and get released, I don't see any other answer.

Put an ad on craigslist. Get renters in touch with your landlord and let him/her decide on the person who will take over. Best chance you have of not being sued.

Chances are he'd rather have an occupied apt with a renter than hassle through the courts and perhaps never get paid (i.e., just because there is a judgment for the money owed doesn't mean you will have the cash to pay).

Good luck.

[Peter1948]

Wrong forum. This is moved to the Real estate/rental forum.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by misslady1000

I rented a house about 3 months ago in which I signed a 2 year lease. However, I only lived there 2 months and had to move out and move in with my parents to be a caregiver for my father- who was diagnosed with dementia. Up until now, I've had a spotless reference and history with renting. The landlord did not stipulate or require a deposit at move in. We have determined there was no damage to property for which I'm responsible. Within 2 weeks of moving out the landlord listed the property for sale and now wants me to pay 22 months of rent (to fullfill 24 month lease). Is this legal? Do I have any recourse? Thanks!

It depends on which state you are in. In most states landlords have to mitigate damages, meaning they have to do their best to minimize losses, meaning they can only charge you rent until they find someone else to take your place, and they have to make a reasonable effort at doing that, and the courts usually figure 30 days is plenty.

Even in a state like VA where they don't have to mitigate damages, I still don't think he can charge you for rent if he sells the place. I could see the court allowing him to leave it empty for a year, but if he sells it, how can he justify charging you rent for a place he no longer owns?

If you just want to look to see if your state law requires LL to mitigate damages here's a link:

http://dirt.umkc.edu/files/mitigationsurvey.htm

Use your search feature (control F) and put in your state name to scroll down to read about your state. The page is really long and it's a lot of legalese, as it has each state's laws and sometimes court cases.

Here's a legal site regarding breaking leases and landlords needing to mitigate damages:

Breaking a Lease and Leaving Early | Nolo.com

Or, just tell me what state you are in and I can help you. I've researched this for lots of folk in different states. I actually like researching law. Sad, I know

[Kim in FL]

Read your lease; what does it say about early termination?

I'm sorry this happened to you and I'm sorry to hear about your parents, but they have nothing to do with this story.

You signed a two year lease and broke it 8 wks in...and yes, you can be held responsible for the remaining term of that lease. Read your state's landlord/tenant law and try to work something out with your landlord.

You own him money for sure, but maybe not 22 mths worth.

[sware2cod]

First tell us your state. Each state can have slightly different laws.

First check if there is an Early Termination Clause in your lease. This will tell the amt you owe for breaking lease.

IF no early termination clause -->For most states, he can only charge you rent when it is due and ONLY if he makes all normal attempts to RERENT. So you pay rent July 1st for 1 month if nobody rents, then again Aug 1st if nobody rents.

If he is not attempting to rerent, then you owe him no rent (in most states). He can try to sue you for it but would need to prove in court that he is attemping to rerent.

Here is what you need to do (CYA). Print copies of MLS and all For Sale info on the home. Take a dated photo out front that shows no sign. Keep 1 week of your local newspapers to show he did not place any classified ads. All this is to prove that he is not attempting to rerent. Which means you owe no rent. (*****in most states).

What method of advertising did he use when you found the rental? Print out that advertisement for the current period to show that he is not using it now to attempt to find a new renter.