break lease due to layoff?

[jmaida]

i live in san francisco, ca. due to a layoff from my job, i am unable to keep making payments for my rent. i am looking to break my lease, giving my landlord a 30 day notice. at the time i signed the lease i inquired to what the penalty would be if needed to break the lease, and my landlord verbally responded with a $150 fine. now when i am requesting to break the lease, she has now changed the fine to $100 and added a payment of rent until the apartment can be rerented. my contract reads ..."any attempt by tenant to terminate this rental agreement prior to the end of the original term shall be deemed to be a breach of this agreement and owner shall be entitled to recover all damages occassioned thereby including leasing commisions, advertising expenses and untilities maintained to show the unit". my landlord has told me that this is just standard policy and has told me to refer to the rental board information on the back of my contract. but there is no information listed. the bottom of my contract reads "professional property management association of san francisco", i'm not sure if this will help. so my question is ... what can i do? i don't want to keep making rent payments until my apartment is rerented, which might take a while. does a verbal agreement count for anything? is there a standard for breaking leases in san francisco?

 

[happy&lucky]

HAHAHA...are you another dot commie?

Well buddy you will owe till its gets rented, thats what you get for moving to San fransisco during the boom.....now ya gotta suffer like everyone else...

and DONT even think of getting a UHaul... there is a severe shortage of them as well...over 3000 people in the last couple of months rented them ONE WAY!

Not much you can do except file for bankruptcy... and next time live within your means.

PS...the landlord could lower the rent $500 a month to the new market price but wont since he has YOU on the hook for a higher price!!!

But what you can do is pay the difference between what a new tenant would be paying for your apartment and Your lease, and then you can avoid bankruptcy or a judgment.

The landlord is entitled BY LAW to get the FULL amount of the lease, but it doesnt matter who pays it, as long as its FULLY paid!

 

[JETX]

Quick!! Turn on the lights and you can hear 'happy' scurrying away into another dark corner.

jmaida:

Q1) "what can i do?"
A1) Really, there is very little you can do to prevent costs for breaching the lease. First, you need to see what you are facing. Get the landlord or manager to itemize what their intentions are in light of your job situation. Get it in writing. If they won't write it, you do so and get them to sign it. Then, and only then, can you determine what your plan can be. And, do NOT argue with them about anything that they say. Your intent at this time is purely to find out what THEIR thinking is and to get it in writing. Also, don't sign ANY agreement that you don't fully agree with. AFTER you get their ideas, you can think about your response and counters at your convenience.

Q2) "i don't want to keep making rent payments until my apartment is rerented, which might take a while. does a verbal agreement count for anything?"
A2) Regretfully, verbal agreements are of little benefit when compared against a written agreement. That is why you need to get the FULL details of what they plan to try to charge you for.

Q3) "is there a standard for breaking leases in san francisco?"
A3) No more than anywhere else... make the tenant pay so that the property owner suffers no loss due to the tenants breach.