Lease break

[jjbarbara]

I am currently living in an apartment where I am completely miserable. There is not sufficient parking, I have witnessed the gardner smoking pot right next to my bedroom window and now they are blocking half of the entrances to my building. I reviewd my entire lease agreement and it does not mention a word about breaking the lease. I want to break the lease, but the management company said they would charge me one month's rent to terminate the lease early. If nothing is mentioned in the lease agreement about breaking the lease, can they still charge me to break it?

 

[Tracey]

Actually, they can charge you full rent for every month of the lease you aren't there! They have a duty to 'mitigate' their damages by trying to re-rent your place ASAP, but you're on the hook until they do. OTOH, if you move out on the 31st and they rerent the apt on the 15th, they have to credit you for the rent they collect from the new tenant (1/2 a month). I think only requiring you to pay 1 month's rent is quite generous of them, since they may not have the place rerented by then. Depends on the housing market.

Why not write them with a list of your complaints and what you'd like them to do about it? They have a right and a duty to maintain the building properly, but you may be able to convince them to clear th entrances at the end of the business day. If you are sufficiently polite but stuborn, you could also negotiate a partial credit for your inconvenience.


Good luck,
Tracey

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.