How Much Does It Cost To Break A Lease | What Happens If You Break A Lease Early
How Much Does It Cost To Break A Lease | What Happens If You Break A Lease Early. Breaking a lease early typically comes with a big financial hit. That’s because when you break a lease, you’re violating the terms of your legal agreement. As a result, most landlords will make tenants pay lease breakage fees in the form of flat rates. Some landlords might even make you pay until a new tenant is found.
Whether you can break a lease depends on why you are doing so. A tenancy agreement is a legally binding document between you and the landlord (property owner or property manager). By signing the lease, the tenant has agreed to live in the rental, and pay rent, for the duration of the contract.
Best Reasons You Can Break A Lease
- Landlord Failing to Maintain Property.
- Illegal or Unsafe Apartment.
- Landlord Harasses Tenant or Violates Privacy
- Active Military Duty or Change of Station Orders
- Victim of Domestic Violence.
- Landlord Illegally Enters Apartment.
Reasons You Can’t Break A Lease
- Loss of a Job
- Disliking Rental Property Location.
- Getting Married.
- Relocating for a Job.
- Purchasing a Home.
How Do You Get Out Of A Lease Break Fee?
Give your landlord as much advance notice of your need to break a lease as possible. Start searching immediately for a replacement tenant if that is expected of you by the lease and in your state. This will help minimize the time it takes to sublet your apartment and reduce your costs.
Other ways are
- Know local real estate laws.
- Go back to where you started, the lease.
- Try to compromise.
- Make sure your landlord is in compliance.
- Communicate with your property management or landlord.
- Help find a replacement tenant.
Costs You Might Pay In Order To Break Your Lease Early
There is no standard amount a tenant must pay if they break a lease agreement early. It will depend on the lease agreement, the landlord, and state law. Below are ways of estimating the cost to break a lease early.
1. Continue Paying Rent Until Landlord Finds New Tenant
Most U.S states require a landlord to actively look for a new Tenant. You would be responsible for paying rent for the remainder of your lease term or until the new tenant’s lease begins, whichever is sooner. You will be released of obligation/liability only once a new tenant is found and approved by your landlord.
2. Pay Rent for Remaining Months of Lease
If you end your lease early, you may still have an obligation for the remaining rent owed on the lease agreement. If you have five months left on your lease and your rent is $750 per month, then you would be responsible for paying $3,750.
3. Landlord Can Take You to Court
If you terminate a lease early, your landlord can take you to court. If the landlord wins, you will likely have to pay rent for any months remaining on the lease, forfeit your security deposit, and could be responsible for damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees.
4. Early Termination Fee
If your lease has an early termination clause, you will be responsible for paying the amount in this clause. In many states, this amount may be one to two months’ rent.
5. Forfeited Security Deposit
Depending on your lease agreement and reason for leaving, you may forfeit your right to have your security deposit returned to you.
Justifiable Reasons To Break a Lease Agreement Early | How to cut Lease breakage fee costs
There are specific scenarios when you are legally justified in breaking your lease, including if your landlord illegally enters your apartment or harasses you or if you have a court order that says you can do so.
1. When your landlord harasses you
If you have a landlord who is harassing you, then you have the legal right to break your lease. The law protects tenants from harassment by their landlords. Harassment can include verbal abuse, physical threats, threats to evict you, destruction of your property, or other behavior that make you feel unsafe.
2. You are a victim of domestic violence
If you are a victim of domestic violence, you can take certain legal measures to help you get out of your lease. There are laws in place to protect victims of domestic violence, but it is crucial that you speak to an attorney to learn more about your rights.
3. Your landlord fails to maintain the property
If the landlord fails to make repairs and provide maintenance, you can take legal action by going to court or reporting the landlord to a government agency such as the Department of Consumer Affairs.
4. You start active military duty or receive change of station orders
If you are an armed forces member, you may receive orders to go on active duty. If this happens, because you cannot refuse these orders, these reasons are legally justifiable to break a lease without repercussions.
5. When your apartment is illegal or unsafe to live in.
Check for a breach of contract on the landlord’s part. If they fail to provide a clean, safe, or functional environment, you may be able to get out of your lease altogether. This is considered a justifiable reason to break a lease without financial repercussions.
6. Your landlord illegally enters your apartment.
A landlord cannot enter your apartment without permission and must provide noticebefore entering. But there must be an emergency before they can enter without permission.
Paying the whole rent upfront
If your living situation is uncertain (and you have the resources), you can eliminate early termination fees altogether by paying the whole rent upfront.
paying the rent upfront can be quite costly. Most rental agreements last a full 12 months, which means you’ll have to pay the full cost of the agreement at one time. For example, if your rent is $1,000 per month for 12 months and you decide to pay your entire rent upfront, you’ll need to pay $12,000. You may even have to pay additional costs once you move out.
Paying the rent upfront comes with at least two key benefits:
- You can terminate the apartment lease at any time.
- You don’t have to worry about making monthly payments.
Early Termination state with a fee
Other landlords might include an early termination clause in their lease agreement. This clause allows tenants to terminate the lease early if they follow the early termination rules.
- Early Termination Fee: The tenant will usually have to pay the landlord the equivalent of two month’s rent if they want to end their lease early, but this amount could be higher or lower based on the lease clause between landlord and tenant.
- Written Notice: The clause will specify how much written notice the tenant must give the landlord to end a lease early. The required notice is generally 30 and 60 days before your desired move-out date.
Cutting Lease Breakage Fee Costs
1. Find a new tenant
Besides negotiating with your landlord, the best thing you can do to reduce your breakage fee is to quickly find a new tenant. If your landlord approves the new tenant, they can take over the lease, potentially negating the need for a breakage fee.
2. Negotiate with your landlord
At the end of the day, your landlord is human. If you explain your situation politely and are willing to compromise, your landlord may be willing to cut down (or even eliminate) breakage fees. This is especially true if you have to move out through no fault of your own.
Bad Reasons To Break A Lease
Buying a home:
If you find the perfect home and are ready to sign the papers, keep in mind that you may end up paying rent until the end of your lease and other fees.
Disliking the location:
Finally, simply disliking your unit or rental property location is not a valid enough reason to break a lease without consequences.
Getting married:
Changing your legal relationship status is another unjustifiable reason to break a lease.
New job:
If you need to relocate due to a new job, unfortunately, this is not a legitimate reason to break a lease.
Losing a job:
Similarly, if you lose your job and become unable to pay rent or need to move out, you are still bound to the terms of your lease agreement.
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