need rental advice

does anyone know what happens if u break a lease? esp if the landlord (private person) has been really nice and accommodating?

a great opportunity just came our way to move to a dif bldng complex across the street (so nothing will change) for the same price but for a bigger and way better apt. and we can move Dec 1st, but our current lease isnt ending until end of Feb.
I really want to move but feel SO BAD telling the landlord 'see ya!'

any advice welcome

I'm not an expert on this, but I think you're liable for the remainder of the rent. Unless there's a provision in your lease that allows you to break it if you give a certain amount of notice. Our lease with our landlord allowed us 2 months notice to break the lease, but we never signed a new lease so essentially we are month to month.

I would discuss it with your landlord if you are serious about leaving. Maybe they will allow you to break it. Otherwise, you signed a contract and may be stuck.

thanks. thats what I thought. I will look at the contract tonite.

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Posted by summerbride20

You can usually break it but for a fee. The fee (from what I've had in the past) is that you lose your security deposit and you still owe one or two months rent. So in my case the fee has ranged from 1-3 months rent depending on the situation. If your landlord has been really nice maybe they will be understanding and either lower your rent because you see this better offer or they will let you go with maybe just your deposit and 1 months.

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I am positive he wont be nice enough to let us go. he is just a guy that rents out his apt cause he needs his mortgage to be paid as he is himself living in a bigger rental apt

I wanna move so badly!

We broke our lease 7 months early. The landlord was NOT happy but I told him to keep the security and another months rent to call it even and he agreed. Its worth the conversation with the landlord, I'm sure he will come to some sort of agreement.

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Posted by stinenandy2010

We broke our lease 7 months early. The landlord was NOT happy but I told him to keep the security and another months rent to call it even and he agreed. Its worth the conversation with the landlord, I'm sure he will come to some sort of agreement.

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thats encouraging. I guess we need to look at our lease and then talk to the landlord and maybe reach same deal.

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Posted by regy_k

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Posted by stinenandy2010

We broke our lease 7 months early. The landlord was NOT happy but I told him to keep the security and another months rent to call it even and he agreed. Its worth the conversation with the landlord, I'm sure he will come to some sort of agreement.

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thats encouraging. I guess we need to look at our lease and then talk to the landlord and maybe reach same deal.

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would you be able to pay both rents for a few months? because if you can, there isnt much difference in christine's deal and you just waiting out your lease, ya know? so if you can swing it and you love the new place, just do it!

also, if your landlord says no, maybe you can negotiate with the new owners, like if he needs a few months deposit up front, ask if you can give it to him in march since you will be paying double-rent

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Posted by little j

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Posted by regy_k

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Posted by stinenandy2010

We broke our lease 7 months early. The landlord was NOT happy but I told him to keep the security and another months rent to call it even and he agreed. Its worth the conversation with the landlord, I'm sure he will come to some sort of agreement.

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thats encouraging. I guess we need to look at our lease and then talk to the landlord and maybe reach same deal.

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would you be able to pay both rents for a few months? because if you can, there isnt much difference in christine's deal and you just waiting out your lease, ya know? so if you can swing it and you love the new place, just do it!

also, if your landlord says no, maybe you can negotiate with the new owners, like if he needs a few months deposit up front, ask if you can give it to him in march since you will be paying double-rent

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there is no way we can afford deposit+1st month's rent on the new place AND paying for 3 months' worth of rent on the old one. absolutely no way.

me and G just decided to 1st check the lease. then talk to the bldng and ask if they will have available apt's Jan 1. this way we will give our current landlord 6 weeks of notice and let him keep the sec deposit. so all he would lose is 1 month rent.
I think its more or less our best option right now.

My former tenants did this. I was really angry because I need the rent to help pay my mortgage (and its not like the rents these days cover the entire mortgage, I'm underwater enough as it is).

However my former tenants had a good excuse - they had a family member from the Middle East that needed emergency care and they needed to move back to their native country ASAP (they were students at the time). They broke their lease 6 months early - and unfortunately I couldn't take them to Housing court since they didn't leave any forwarding address.

I decided to keep their 2 months security deposit as rent, and immediately placed a For Rent ad on Craigslist. I'd talk to your landlord and ask them if they will work with you since its only like 1-2 months of rent they will be losing.