Lease Termination

[moynihan1129]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

I am currently in a lease from July 2008 - June 2009. It is a one bedroom apartment where I live with my fiance. I am considering the possibilities of how to get out of the lease. I do not want to screw over the landlord in anyway as I did sign a one year lease.
The reasons I want to terminate lease: 1) Fiance is pregnant and there will simply not be enough room for the 3 of us and 2)Was recently promoted and employer is paying all closing costs on a home purchase.

I have made an offer on a property that was accepted. Closing is set for Jan 21 but could be sooner. My employer will pay a "lease termination fee" to my landlord of 2 months rent. I would give him a notic as of Jan 1 saying I would be out by the end of February. With rent for Jan, Feb and the 2 months paid by the employer that would basically bring him paid through April: 2 months short of the lease. There is no early out option on the lease at all. He verbally told me that he likes his leases to renew at a certain time of year and if I was to move out early he would make me pay through June and would not attempt to rent the property again. I do realize I am responsible until he finds a new tenant, however doesn't he have to make an effort to find a new tenant? I know he cannot collect double rent so I would hope that he would see this as an opportunity to receive rent through Feb, have 60 days while the place is occupied to show it to new tenants and get a 2 month's rent cancelation fee, however he will not. He said he is strict with his leases and I pay though June with no exception. Is there some sort of way around this? I want this to beneficial for the both of us?

Also, I just called the code enforcement office and found that none of the windows meet code. Some of them are cracked and even missing small pieces of glass that he repaired with packaging tape before I moved in. I have not yet asked him to repair them. Is this also an option to get out of the lease or do I have to ask him several times to repair them and then bring code enforcement in? I do not want to be threatning in anyway whatsoever. I do understand from the prior tenant that he refused to replace the windows. When I called code enforcement they wanted to do an inspection right away but I asked them to hold off. Please Help!!!

 

[Mrs. D]

If you gave notice, moved out, and stopped paying rent, the LL would have to sue you to get the rent he thinks you owe. Yes, in many places it is beneficial to the LL to rent at a certain time of the year. Around my parts, an apartment will fetch $200-300 more per month if rented between May and September than other months. I can see why he wants to keep his leases on that schedule. However, the court would ask him to prove he attempted to mitigate his damages by re-renting the apartment. He could phoney something up and place an ad and then turn down everyone who shows up to look at the place and possibly get away with it. Is that really worth the effort? Who knows.

You could attempt to find a subleaser to finish out your lease. That way the LL gets to keep his lease on his schedule and you don't have to pay anything. Ask your LL if he would allow you to do that.

Yes, you would be required to give written notice of the problem with the apartment to the LL, give him a reasonable amount of time to respond, have code enforcement out, have them give him a reasonable amount of time to repair, and then you might be able to break your lease over the windows if they make the apartment "uninhabitable." That's a long, hard road.

You can either move out and let him sue you for the rent or ask him if a subleaser is a solution.

BTW: I want your job!!!

 

[moynihan1129]

If you gave notice, moved out, and stopped paying rent, the LL would have to sue you to get the rent he thinks you owe. Yes, in many places it is beneficial to the LL to rent at a certain time of the year. Around my parts, an apartment will fetch $200-300 more per month if rented between May and September than other months. I can see why he wants to keep his leases on that schedule. However, the court would ask him to prove he attempted to mitigate his damages by re-renting the apartment. He could phoney something up and place an ad and then turn down everyone who shows up to look at the place and possibly get away with it. Is that really worth the effort? Who knows.

You could attempt to find a subleaser to finish out your lease. That way the LL gets to keep his lease on his schedule and you don't have to pay anything. Ask your LL if he would allow you to do that.

Yes, you would be required to give written notice of the problem with the apartment to the LL, give him a reasonable amount of time to respond, have code enforcement out, have them give him a reasonable amount of time to repair, and then you might be able to break your lease over the windows if they make the apartment "uninhabitable." That's a long, hard road.

You can either move out and let him sue you for the rent or ask him if a subleaser is a solution.

BTW: I want your job!!!

I cant sublease. It is in my lease. Around here, rentals arent really effected by the season and he wouldn't want more in rent. He just says "he gets the right type of rentors." You do need a credit score of at least 700 to get the place so if he is making a "resonable effort" he sould be able to show copies of applications and credit reports. He is a retired banker and tries to present himself as all knowing about anything to do with banking. As far as the windows go, I have plastic on them and it gets so bad that when the wind really picks up it blows the plastic off the inside of them!!! It is a really nice apartment with the exception of the windows. When it got really cold I set the thermostat to 70 and the furnace was on 24/7 and the temp maxed out at 65. As when it warmed up today, it heated to 70 in here no problem. I have my lawyer reviewing the lease and will probably seek his advice on the best method out. I know he cant legally get double rent, howver if he accepts my "termination funds" he could find a tenant while I am still here for 60 days and have rent in addition to the termination funds. The worst part about my landlord is that he isn't a nice guy. The previous tenant in the downstairs apartment had a lease that expires a month before mine. 90 days before the lease expired she explained that she was purchasing a house and would like to rent for an additional month because she had no family in the area to stay with while her house closed. He told her, "too bad live in a hotel for a month." Most landlords that I have experienced with would be more than willing especially since his lease expiration period would be in his ideal time limits. he said 12 more months or 0...
Anyway, thank you for your advice...much appreciated.

 

[Mrs. D]

I would still write him a letter, sent certified mail, return receipt requested, asking his permission to sublease. That way, you have an additional point on your board showing that you made every reasonable effort to mitigate his damages from you moving out early should you end up in court. I have had lots of leases that said no subleasing and the LLs still allowed it on a case-by-case basis and with their prior approval of the sub-tenant.

Your LL is free to have his standards (so long as they don't violate discrimination laws, which a 700 or better credit score does not). He just has to show that he made reasonable efforts to re-rent the unit. I was suggesting that if he was really, truly married to his lease schedule he could "create" an effort to re-rent the unit, by placing an ad and having applications and the whole bit but accepting no one. In my mind, it's not worth the effort to make the whole thing up. To pay for an ad, show the apartment, take applications, and then refuse people you would otherwise rent to seems like a monumental waste of time just to maintain a lease that ends in June. Heck, he could even offer a 14 month lease to get his leases back on schedule after just one round. Just throwing out my two cents that faking attempts to re-rent seems like a waste of time.

There might be a code requiring that the thermostat set at a certain temperature must be capable of keeping the apartment at a certain temperature. Again, you need to write him a letter detailing the problem and asking him to fix it. If he does nothing, call the code office, and they'll tell him he has X number of days to fix the windows. If he still doesn't fix them to the code office's liking, a number of things could happen. He could be given more time, he could be fined, or they could say the apartment doesn't meet the implied warranty of habitability. I don't know all the codes for your area, so I can't tell you for sure what will happen.

 

[BL]

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/bureaus/real_estate_finance/pdfs/tenants_rights_guide.pdf

Read about assignment and sublet of lease.

In part , it states per policy , that any provision in a lease denying sublease is void .

In other words , any clause that goes against law / policy is not enforceable .

 

[Hot Topic]

You've lived with the windows for five months. Now, when you want to get out of the lease, they're a problem. If you want as little conflict with the landlord as possible so that you can get out of that apartment and into your dream home, I wouldn't make an issue of them.

The experiences of other people are irrelevant now.

 

[moynihan1129]

You've lived with the windows for five months. Now, when you want to get out of the lease, they're a problem. If you want as little conflict with the landlord as possible so that you can get out of that apartment and into your dream home, I wouldn't make an issue of them.

The experiences of other people are irrelevant now.

Correct and I feel the same. However, now with colder temperatures, the heat bill for this 1000sq foot apartment is actually the same as the average for the 3200 sq foot house I am purchasing with the same type of fuel and heat. This is a road I will go down if absolutely necessary. It is important that I initally relay to him that I am trying to make the best of the situation for the both of us.

 

[moynihan1129]

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/bureaus/real_estate_finance/pdfs/tenants_rights_guide.pdf

Read about assignment and sublet of lease.

In part , it states per policy , that any provision in a lease denying sublease is void .

In other words , any clause that goes against law / policy is not enforceable .

Thank you!!!

"tenant may not assign the lease without the landlord's written
consent. The landlord may withhold consent without cause. If the landlord
reasonably refuses consent, the tenant cannot assign and is not entitled to
be released from the lease. If the landlord unreasonably refuses consent,
the tenant is entitled to be released from the lease within 30 days from the
11
date the request was given to the landlord. Real Property Law § 226-b(1)."

Is this saying that if he unreasonably refuses to consent a sublease, ie a clause in the original lease saying it is not allowed, he has to release me from the lease withing 30 days of my asking written permission?

 

[BL]

More:

NYC Rent Guidelines Board

 

[You Are Guilty]

Is this saying that if he unreasonably refuses to consent a sublease, ie a clause in the original lease saying it is not allowed, he has to release me from the lease withing 30 days of my asking written permission?

Basically. The underlying lease's blanket prohibition is unenforceable. However, that doesn't give you the automatic right to sublease (or assign, for that matter). You still have to jump through the statutory hoops set out in that section.

Two problems, though.

First, even if the landlord agrees to the sublease, you still remain liable for the apartment. Which means if your subtenant stops paying rent, or causes damages, the landlord can come directly to you for payment, and you are obligated to make it as if you were actually living there. (Your remedy then, is to sue your subtenant).

Second, the term "unreasonable" is tricky. If your LL is as shrewd as he thinks he is, then finding (creating?) a "reasonable" basis to deny the sublease is not all that difficult. Ultimately, it's a term which only a judge can have the final say on, so keep that in mind if you decide to go this route.

Good luck.