Post: #1

I bought a house that I would like to move into and I want to break my current apt lease for which I have 5 more (expensive) months.

I do not want to find a subletter because it's a lot of time & effort and my lease does not allow it.

There is a release clause that's basically 2 months rent, but that is way more than I'm willing to spend based on a number of feelings about this place and renting in general and I know there's a waiting list and my apt will be filled the day after I vacate it.

There is a nuisance clause in the contract but it only applies to the leasee, not the landlord. This is unfortunate because my big pet peeve with them is that for over 1 yr up until about 3 months ago the landlord's sister company would begin construction on a commercial property right outside my window 2-3 hours before the city noise ordinance permitted construction to begin every morning.

I would call the police to enforce the noise ordinance and they only did this 50% of the time, and I would incessantly complain to the landlord. The leasing office merely said, "even though it is the same owners as this apartment building, the commercial construction going on is a different company and therefore there is nothing we can do about it." It resulted in a lot of loss sleep, loss of productivity and higher stress. Even worse, the office referred to me to other tenants & occupants as the "cranky man who always complained about the construction noise" as if it were my fault that they continually broke the city noise ordinance. I'm not sure if I could use this as justification to break the lease?

I spoke with the office to find out what would happen if I vacated and they were adamant about legally pursuing the 5 months rent of the lease, and that it would ultimately go to collections and ding my credit report as I have no intention of paying it.

Any ideas? Has anyone else successfully broken a lease? How did you do so?

I've always heard that the USA laws favor tenants against landlords but whenever I try to do anything it always seems the other way around.

Post: #2

Quote:There is a release clause that's basically 2 months rent, but that is way more than I'm willing to spend based on a number of feelings about this place and renting in general and I know there's a waiting list and my apt will be filled the day after I vacate it.

Have you asked them if they would accept 1 month rent? If they can fill the apartment immediately it should still be a good deal to them.

Quote:I do not want to find a subletter because it's a lot of time & effort and my lease does not allow it.

Also there is Air bnb. What would happen if you sublet it anyway? Would they cancel the contract prematurely? That's probably what you want anyway. Good luck in using them as a reference though.

Post: #3

(09-30-2014 10:42 PM)Cheetah Wrote:  Have you asked them if they would accept 1 month rent? If they can fill the apartment immediately it should still be a good deal to them.

Yes, they were not having it. The most I'm willing to sacrifice is my security deposit. And in the past I've always paid my last month's rent with the security deposit, so my willingness to part with the security deposit is a big step forward for me

Quote:Also there is Air bnb. What would happen if you sublet it anyway? Would they cancel the contract prematurely? That's probably what you want anyway. Good luck in using them as a reference though.

I want the furnishings for my home. I'm not concerned with this place as a reference.

Post: #4

How did you go about paying the last months rent with security deposit? Did you have any problems getting references after that?

Post: #5

(09-30-2014 10:53 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  How did you go about paying the last months rent with security deposit? Did you have any problems getting references after that?

You just tell them, "use my security deposit for my rent." They bitch and moan but who cares; they're not going to evict you because the expense and timeframe required outweighs one month's rent. Otherwise, I've rarely heard of a landlord who gives you your security deposit back even if you leave the apt in good, clean condition. Never happened to me back when I would actually pay last month's rent and not use the security deposit for it. Learned the hard way I guess.

Ideally, you'd already have signed for one apt prior to your last month in your previous place anyway, so worrying about references is kind of a moot point. Or you just have friends/family from out of state pose as references. I'm not even sure if more than 20% or so of landlords even call refs. They use an online background check and that's about it.

But renting in general blows. Buy if you can. The former is pissing money in the wind, the latter is investing for returns.

Post: #6

(09-30-2014 10:50 PM)monster Wrote:  

(09-30-2014 10:42 PM)Cheetah Wrote:  Have you asked them if they would accept 1 month rent? If they can fill the apartment immediately it should still be a good deal to them.

Yes, they were not having it. The most I'm willing to sacrifice is my security deposit. And in the past I've always paid my last month's rent with the security deposit, so my willingness to part with the security deposit is a big step forward for me

Quote:Also there is Air bnb. What would happen if you sublet it anyway? Would they cancel the contract prematurely? That's probably what you want anyway. Good luck in using them as a reference though.

I want the furnishings for my home. I'm not concerned with this place as a reference.

You could always negotiate with the fact that you could claim compensation for the noises that you had (if you have a case I don't know). If they would cancel the contract quite soon you will be happy or at least make a reasonable offer for compensation. If not, let them know that you will take it to small claims court and if you win you will let all of your neighbours know of the outcome and they will claim the same as well. Even if you only have a case against the ones who made the noise, the owner of your apartment still has an interest in that his other company doesn't get alot of claims for compensation.

Failing that, dumpster dive for a girl who has several screamy kids and several dogs who bark constantly. Move out your furniture and move her in instead. I am sure that your neighbours will collect the 2 month worth of rent for you.

Post: #7

You can negotiate or skip out and leave the deposit. Just say you got a job last minute in some other state and defeat his mental idea of trying to dog you for the 5 months. Most people just bounce, but if I were you I would handle it with two months. its blown money but you gotta have some carrot for him to bite at. Bouncing with just one month is a big "fuck you". This is why I don't sign leases as in most places your required to put down last month anyways so your always on a 2 month commitment anyways.


If you want to break it the most shady way possible without bouncing in the darkness of the night is to just not pay your rent. This will force him to serve you papers within a 30-45 day time frame (jurisdiction dependent of course). He uses that deposit to cover that 30 day window and then your out. Try to negotiate first though then if no bueno then just don't pay next month and bounce. If you bought a place his reference is worth nothing going forward.

Post: #8

(09-30-2014 11:09 PM)kosko Wrote:  If you want to break it the most shady way possible without bouncing in the darkness of the night is to just not pay your rent. This will force him to serve you papers within a 30-45 day time frame (jurisdiction dependent of course). He uses that deposit to cover that 30 day window and then your out. Try to negotiate first though then if no bueno then just don't pay next month and bounce. If you bought a place his reference is worth nothing going forward.

Wouldn't that be eviction then? Eviction shows up on your credit report and is just as bad if not worse than showing delinquent/default on rent I believe?

The landlord was pretty adamant about if I just skipped he would pursue it and it would go to collections and therefore show on my credit report. I'm not sure if that was posturing or not though.

Post: #9

What is wrong with subletting the apartment if it is done unfurnished? Needless to say you to do a due diligence on the tenant and make sure that there is insurance coverage should the tenant forget the stove and there is a fire, water damage etc.

Post: #10

(09-30-2014 11:16 PM)Cheetah Wrote:  What is wrong with subletting the apartment if it is done unfurnished? Needless to say you to do a due diligence on the tenant and make sure that there is insurance coverage should the tenant forget the stove and there is a fire, water damage etc.

I just don't feel like searching for a sublet and vetting them, etc. That's a lot of work and I'm extremely busy with other things as it is. Plus, there's the risk that they don't pay me or they damage the place!

Post: #11

^^^^

Ok, fair enough.

I would still bring up the discussion about compensation for the noise, preferably directly with the owner. He might think that it's worth to end your contract prematurely for not having you to claim compensation against his other company for the noises that were made, especially outside of the approved hours.

Post: #12

(09-30-2014 11:16 PM)monster Wrote:  

(09-30-2014 11:09 PM)kosko Wrote:  If you want to break it the most shady way possible without bouncing in the darkness of the night is to just not pay your rent. This will force him to serve you papers within a 30-45 day time frame (jurisdiction dependent of course). He uses that deposit to cover that 30 day window and then your out. Try to negotiate first though then if no bueno then just don't pay next month and bounce. If you bought a place his reference is worth nothing going forward.

Wouldn't that be eviction then? Eviction shows up on your credit report and is just as bad if not worse than showing delinquent/default on rent I believe?

The landlord was pretty adamant about if I just skipped he would pursue it and it would go to collections and therefore show on my credit report. I'm not sure if that was posturing or not though.

In Canada it isn't like that (per-se). But again I don't sign leases normally and I am referring to tenancy laws, but what you state makes sense. That's a no go, my mistake.

I would still troll and say your moving out State for a job and just try to negotiate the best exit plan. Generally 2 months is a deal most landlords will take. If not find a sub-lease to take over your rent. You can offer a discount to the Sub-lease of $100 bucks a month, some type of incentive that would minimize your penalty for breaching the lease with the landlord. That would be a ding of $500 versus the original remaining amount or the penalty.

Post: #13

No one on her should really give you definitive legal advice. First, because that might trigger a lawyer/client relationship and Second, you don't say what state you are in. Having said that- and this is in no way to be construed as legal advice.

I notice that you take as true the things said in your lease. One being that you can't "sublet", the other being some other aspects of your lease such as the release clause. Just because something is written down on a piece of paper doesn't necessarily make it true. Every state has its own particular landlord/tenant rules. Most states have handy guides that you can find online from a government agency or a reputable non-profit (For example search New York landlord tenant.)

Another thing to consider is the cost of a meeting with a lawyer in your town vs 5 months of payments. Many lawyers will offer a on hour consult/letter for a flat fee.

Some other posters have suggested just skipping out. First thing we check for is whether someone defaulted on an unlawful detainer, worse than having been in prison as far as renting out to someone for many landlords.

Oh PS subletting and assignment are different things and the law often treats those things differently. Another topic to discuss during an hour conversation with a lawyer.

Post: #14

I'd have thought the landlord and agent would be pleased about remarketing and signing up a new tenant to a fresh, long lease.

You need to revisit the subletting if this is a definite no go. At the end of the day, you are the one not fulfilling your end of the contract…the least you can do, in my opinion, is to put the effort in to sort it out.

Think about how you will feel if for some reason you have to rent your own house out and have a tenant wanting to do the same as you.

Post: #15

Seeing as you are in the US, over here in the UK when a contract does not expressed include a clause it does not mean that there isn't one. It is implied.

A nuisance clause which includes the landlord makes a valid contract. If the landlord tried to engineer a contract to not include such a covenant then it is not a valid contract at law. Basically it is a license and you can terminate it anytime.

I am clueless on the matter regarding the US contract land law however and we in the UK have several hundred years worth of landlord & property law than you.


You should have hired a lawyer who is an expert in contract law and works within the property/building trade. It looks like the "other" company was a front to throw lawyers off and so your landlord can claim no responsibility. it is basically the same umbrella corporation in action.

Nobody likes being dicked around and I understand your position. I hope you give them the good ol "fuck you".

Post: #16

You do realize if you break the lease they can report that onto your credit.

Post: #17

I'm a Landlord, and since I travel a lot for work in the US, I'm also a tenant.

First, google the tenant/landlord laws of your state about breaking a lease.

Second, if you find a new tenant that is good on paper or if they rent your apt out as soon as you vacate then you are NOT liable for the rent of the remainder of the lease. I don't care what state it is, the landlord cannot get double rent. Period.

Take some pics of your apt, put up a Craigslist ad and get some potential candidates to present to the landlord.

I would let them know you are vacating and remind them that they MUST find a new tenant to replace you. If you present them a list of qualified candidates, then they must show cause why those candidates are not suitable.

Let them come after you for the money. The less money of yours they have, the more motivated they will be to rent it out.

The "nuisance fee" of 2 months rent for breaking the lease even if they re-rent it out right away sounds very illegal. I had a landlord try that shit on me and I got a lawyer. Cost me $150 for him to write a letter, but boy you should see what receiving a well written letter from a lawyer can do to people. No nuisance fee was applied and I got my full deposit back.

Post: #18

What I did once: I placed an ad on social media & local renter site. I selected a good candidate, was upfront to him & then told my landlord.

Switching was better for all, no headache for anyone.

Post: #19

I'll be honest, being a landlord myself this post kind of rubs me the wrong way. Today I'm in a financial situation where I could weather a non paying tenant or a couple months of vacancy however in the past that would have put me behind on my mortgage and stressed financially. Now I'm guessing this is a large management company and your justifying this as they can handle it its not going to ruin them. I'm kind of old school in the sense a man pays his debts and a man lives up to his commitments and obligations.

You knew you were in a lease and made a decision to buy a house which is your right to do but now you want to make yourself out to be a victim in this scenario when you signed a lease and agreed to that term. You also seem to be digging for reasons like construction noise to somehow justify your decision to break a contract when lets be real that has nothing to do with this, you want to move into a house you bought and not pay rent and a mortgage which is understandable.

I would be a bit more sympathetic if you came here posting saying I went to the landlord, I offered to vacate and pay an additional month of rent and offered to find a replacement and they are not working with me. In that case I would say okay fine at least your making an effort but you talk about how finding a subleaseee would be such a hassle. Are you really too busy to take 2 minutes to place an ad on craigslist? Also you say its a sought after apt so if thats the case you should be able to find someone to sublease pretty easily. Put an ad on cl, heck you can even do as little as just forwarding your responses you get to the property manager, at least it shows some effort on your part not to screw them.

As far as the landlord or management company they do have a duty to find a replacement and can't just sit back and collect 5 months of free rent from you, I believe they have a duty to make a reasonable effort to find someone and probably by law they should maybe get 2 months rent out of you and by then it would be reasonable they would find someone else, espcially if hte apt is as sought after as you say.

It just seems to me like you want to skip out and are trying to justify your decision to yourself that its an okay thing to do. You also seem not willing to pay any money or make any effort to right a situation which is totally your fault and totally your doing. Maybe I'm alone on this one but I know there's a few other landlords on these boards, curious how they would feel. To the OP not sure if you have your own business or anything but how would you feel if people were trying to find ways to cheat tehir way out of paying for your serviice. Heck what if you have to move for your job and have to rent out this home you just bought. How would you like it if someone did this to you?

Post: #20

Landlord here. In my county, if a tenant doesn't pay, I can get it in front of a judge in about 3 weeks. However, that judgment (in Landlord-Tenant Court) just results in a court order for the tenant to pay within 5 days or be evicted. It is not a judgment for a debt I can collect. Basically they just rule that an eviction is warranted if the tenant doesn't pay up.

If I want to get back rent from a tenant that skips out, that would go to the usual civil court (probably small claims court) and that is likely to take a few months at least to go through the system. I think a lot of landlords won't pursue this option because of the time and costs. Landlord-Tenant court is simple and has low fees.

One out is due to noise, but you need to find out the proper legal procedure for this. Contact Landlord-Tenant Affairs in your county/city and they'll tell you how to file the complaint. Once it's documented, then go to the landlord and say you're willing to settle for just moving out early and terminating the lease if they agree -- I suspect they will.

I think you're running into inflexibility becuase it's a management company. I have tenants who want to leave early all the time, and I just tell them to find me suitable replacement tenants, and I'll free them from the lease early and enter into a new lease with the new tenant. I don't care who the money comes from as long as it's a good tenant.

Post: #21

(10-01-2014 08:53 AM)paninaro Wrote:  Landlord here. In my county, if a tenant doesn't pay, I can get it in front of a judge in about 3 weeks. However, that judgment (in Landlord-Tenant Court) just results in a court order for the tenant to pay within 5 days or be evicted. It is not a judgment for a debt I can collect. Basically they just rule that an eviction is warranted if the tenant doesn't pay up.

If I want to get back rent from a tenant that skips out, that would go to the usual civil court (probably small claims court) and that is likely to take a few months at least to go through the system. I think a lot of landlords won't pursue this option because of the time and costs. Landlord-Tenant court is simple and has low fees.

One out is due to noise, but you need to find out the proper legal procedure for this. Contact Landlord-Tenant Affairs in your county/city and they'll tell you how to file the complaint. Once it's documented, then go to the landlord and say you're willing to settle for just moving out early and terminating the lease if they agree -- I suspect they will.

I think you're running into inflexibility becuase it's a management company. I have tenants who want to leave early all the time, and I just tell them to find me suitable replacement tenants, and I'll free them from the lease early and enter into a new lease with the new tenant. I don't care who the money comes from as long as it's a good tenant.

THis is basically my point. As a landlord tenants kind of have us in a bind when they wanna walk away towards the end, its relaly not worth pursuing them. I'm in agreement with you. I wouldn't be thrilled to have a tenant walking out, however if they explained to me why and were willing to work with me I'd be agreeable to a fair resolution for both of us. Even if they didn't find me a tenant at least show me your putting in some effort. If your just like I'm walking away fuck you your not getting any money I'd pursue them strictly out of pricnipal and to be vindictive.

Post: #22

Bedbugs will scare the shit out of anyone with an apartment complex or motel.

Post: #23

(10-01-2014 06:10 AM)Onto Wrote:  I'm a Landlord, and since I travel a lot for work in the US, I'm also a tenant.

First, google the tenant/landlord laws of your state about breaking a lease.

Second, if you find a new tenant that is good on paper or if they rent your apt out as soon as you vacate then you are NOT liable for the rent of the remainder of the lease. I don't care what state it is, the landlord cannot get double rent. Period.

Take some pics of your apt, put up a Craigslist ad and get some potential candidates to present to the landlord.

I would let them know you are vacating and remind them that they MUST find a new tenant to replace you. If you present them a list of qualified candidates, then they must show cause why those candidates are not suitable.

Let them come after you for the money. The less money of yours they have, the more motivated they will be to rent it out.

The "nuisance fee" of 2 months rent for breaking the lease even if they re-rent it out right away sounds very illegal. I had a landlord try that shit on me and I got a lawyer. Cost me $150 for him to write a letter, but boy you should see what receiving a well written letter from a lawyer can do to people. No nuisance fee was applied and I got my full deposit back.

This is BY FAR the best advice in this thread as well as the person who advised that you meet with a lawyer.

Nothing against jamaicabound personally, but there's a few things I think he's projecting his negative experiences on with his advice. Gonna break it down quick here:

(10-01-2014 08:05 AM)jamaicabound Wrote:  I'll be honest, being a landlord myself this post kind of rubs me the wrong way. Today I'm in a financial situation where I could weather a non paying tenant or a couple months of vacancy however in the past that would have put me behind on my mortgage and stressed financially. Now I'm guessing this is a large management company and your justifying this as they can handle it its not going to ruin them. I'm kind of old school in the sense a man pays his debts and a man lives up to his commitments and obligations.

Why would you comment on what you're "guessing" about? Old school also involves people being reasonable and discussing other possible opportunities, not holding a contract over someone's head when something major changes in their life. YES, the onus is on the tenant to make the transition as smooth as possible, but there's nothing good about how the management company is dealing with this. They are being simply lazy and likely to the point of breaking the law.

(10-01-2014 08:05 AM)jamaicabound Wrote:  You knew you were in a lease and made a decision to buy a house which is your right to do but now you want to make yourself out to be a victim in this scenario when you signed a lease and agreed to that term. You also seem to be digging for reasons like construction noise to somehow justify your decision to break a contract when lets be real that has nothing to do with this, you want to move into a house you bought and not pay rent and a mortgage which is understandable.

How is it not the management company's responsibility or at very minimum INTEREST to ensure that their multiple tenants aren't negatively affected by construction noise hours before the city statute for the time period of a year? I don't see how you can possibly construe it as him "digging" for reasons when he had to deal with that for a year. I would be livid and I can't imagine any small claims court not taking that into consideration if it ever went to that.

(10-01-2014 08:05 AM)jamaicabound Wrote:  I would be a bit more sympathetic if you came here posting saying I went to the landlord, I offered to vacate and pay an additional month of rent and offered to find a replacement and they are not working with me. In that case I would say okay fine at least your making an effort but you talk about how finding a subleaseee would be such a hassle. Are you really too busy to take 2 minutes to place an ad on craigslist? Also you say its a sought after apt so if thats the case you should be able to find someone to sublease pretty easily. Put an ad on cl, heck you can even do as little as just forwarding your responses you get to the property manager, at least it shows some effort on your part not to screw them.

He said subletting wasn't allowed. He didn't say he was against looking for someone else to replace him, just that he was very busy. He made it clear that there is a waiting list for this place. How is that more than a slight inconvenience on the management company's part to sort out a transition? Negotiating some kind of agreement to break the lease is not unreasonable.

(10-01-2014 08:05 AM)jamaicabound Wrote:  It just seems to me like you want to skip out and are trying to justify your decision to yourself that its an okay thing to do. You also seem not willing to pay any money or make any effort to right a situation which is totally your fault and totally your doing. Maybe I'm alone on this one but I know there's a few other landlords on these boards, curious how they would feel. To the OP not sure if you have your own business or anything but how would you feel if people were trying to find ways to cheat tehir way out of paying for your serviice. Heck what if you have to move for your job and have to rent out this home you just bought. How would you like it if someone did this to you?

I've been both a tenant and a landlord. These larger management companies don't want to lift a finger unless they absolutely have to. That's not a great way to do business and is a large part why I chose to move out of a supposedly "very nice" apartment complex long ago. You can't charge the high rent that they do and then not provide reasonable customer service.

If a tenant came to me and wanted to break their lease I wouldn't be happy about it, but I'd also explore what would be reasonable for the tenant AND for me so we can find the best way forward. Sure if they're being completely unreasonable I'd pursue all the money I could get out of the situation, but life and business is not set in concrete.

This guy asked for ideas, not for ways to cheat and completely screw his leasing company.

To the op, I'd highly recommend you meet with a lawyer after pursuing the self-help sections of your local municipality and state's tenant/landlord law websites. I'd also make sure you have any documentation you can get on the major ongoing noise complaints and your management company's complete unwillingness to help you as well as their painting you as a troublemaker for bringing it up.

I also wouldn't deal with anyone at the management company that is lower level. They're paid to not spend the company's money and they'll tell you just about anything to go with what is best for them. I'd highly recommend getting the contact information for the most senior person you can reach at the management company to try again with them. Last resort is having a lawyer send them a letter.

Post: #24

(10-01-2014 03:18 PM)AneroidOcean Wrote:  

(10-01-2014 06:10 AM)Onto Wrote:  I'm a Landlord, and since I travel a lot for work in the US, I'm also a tenant.

First, google the tenant/landlord laws of your state about breaking a lease.

Second, if you find a new tenant that is good on paper or if they rent your apt out as soon as you vacate then you are NOT liable for the rent of the remainder of the lease. I don't care what state it is, the landlord cannot get double rent. Period.

Take some pics of your apt, put up a Craigslist ad and get some potential candidates to present to the landlord.

I would let them know you are vacating and remind them that they MUST find a new tenant to replace you. If you present them a list of qualified candidates, then they must show cause why those candidates are not suitable.

Let them come after you for the money. The less money of yours they have, the more motivated they will be to rent it out.

The "nuisance fee" of 2 months rent for breaking the lease even if they re-rent it out right away sounds very illegal. I had a landlord try that shit on me and I got a lawyer. Cost me $150 for him to write a letter, but boy you should see what receiving a well written letter from a lawyer can do to people. No nuisance fee was applied and I got my full deposit back.

This is BY FAR the best advice in this thread as well as the person who advised that you meet with a lawyer.

Nothing against jamaicabound personally, but there's a few things I think he's projecting his negative experiences on with his advice. Gonna break it down quick here:

(10-01-2014 08:05 AM)jamaicabound Wrote:  I'll be honest, being a landlord myself this post kind of rubs me the wrong way. Today I'm in a financial situation where I could weather a non paying tenant or a couple months of vacancy however in the past that would have put me behind on my mortgage and stressed financially. Now I'm guessing this is a large management company and your justifying this as they can handle it its not going to ruin them. I'm kind of old school in the sense a man pays his debts and a man lives up to his commitments and obligations.

Why would you comment on what you're "guessing" about? Old school also involves people being reasonable and discussing other possible opportunities, not holding a contract over someone's head when something major changes in their life. YES, the onus is on the tenant to make the transition as smooth as possible, but there's nothing good about how the management company is dealing with this. They are being simply lazy and likely to the point of breaking the law.

(10-01-2014 08:05 AM)jamaicabound Wrote:  You knew you were in a lease and made a decision to buy a house which is your right to do but now you want to make yourself out to be a victim in this scenario when you signed a lease and agreed to that term. You also seem to be digging for reasons like construction noise to somehow justify your decision to break a contract when lets be real that has nothing to do with this, you want to move into a house you bought and not pay rent and a mortgage which is understandable.

How is it not the management company's responsibility or at very minimum INTEREST to ensure that their multiple tenants aren't negatively affected by construction noise hours before the city statute for the time period of a year? I don't see how you can possibly construe it as him "digging" for reasons when he had to deal with that for a year. I would be livid and I can't imagine any small claims court not taking that into consideration if it ever went to that.

(10-01-2014 08:05 AM)jamaicabound Wrote:  I would be a bit more sympathetic if you came here posting saying I went to the landlord, I offered to vacate and pay an additional month of rent and offered to find a replacement and they are not working with me. In that case I would say okay fine at least your making an effort but you talk about how finding a subleaseee would be such a hassle. Are you really too busy to take 2 minutes to place an ad on craigslist? Also you say its a sought after apt so if thats the case you should be able to find someone to sublease pretty easily. Put an ad on cl, heck you can even do as little as just forwarding your responses you get to the property manager, at least it shows some effort on your part not to screw them.

He said subletting wasn't allowed. He didn't say he was against looking for someone else to replace him, just that he was very busy. He made it clear that there is a waiting list for this place. How is that more than a slight inconvenience on the management company's part to sort out a transition? Negotiating some kind of agreement to break the lease is not unreasonable.

(10-01-2014 08:05 AM)jamaicabound Wrote:  It just seems to me like you want to skip out and are trying to justify your decision to yourself that its an okay thing to do. You also seem not willing to pay any money or make any effort to right a situation which is totally your fault and totally your doing. Maybe I'm alone on this one but I know there's a few other landlords on these boards, curious how they would feel. To the OP not sure if you have your own business or anything but how would you feel if people were trying to find ways to cheat tehir way out of paying for your serviice. Heck what if you have to move for your job and have to rent out this home you just bought. How would you like it if someone did this to you?

I've been both a tenant and a landlord. These larger management companies don't want to lift a finger unless they absolutely have to. That's not a great way to do business and is a large part why I chose to move out of a supposedly "very nice" apartment complex long ago. You can't charge the high rent that they do and then not provide reasonable customer service.

If a tenant came to me and wanted to break their lease I wouldn't be happy about it, but I'd also explore what would be reasonable for the tenant AND for me so we can find the best way forward. Sure if they're being completely unreasonable I'd pursue all the money I could get out of the situation, but life and business is not set in concrete.

This guy asked for ideas, not for ways to cheat and completely screw his leasing company.

To the op, I'd highly recommend you meet with a lawyer after pursuing the self-help sections of your local municipality and state's tenant/landlord law websites. I'd also make sure you have any documentation you can get on the major ongoing noise complaints and your management company's complete unwillingness to help you as well as their painting you as a troublemaker for bringing it up.

I also wouldn't deal with anyone at the management company that is lower level. They're paid to not spend the company's money and they'll tell you just about anything to go with what is best for them. I'd highly recommend getting the contact information for the most senior person you can reach at the management company to try again with them. Last resort is having a lawyer send them a letter.

I'm simply giving my opinion here. I think alot of times people think landlords or people in business are jerks and I can understand feeling that way from the standpoint of a consumer, however if you're in business though customer service is important you have to stick to your guns or you can get fucked royally. Alot of people want landlords to be understanding and flexible and I get that but there are bad apples out there who try to game the system and know the loopholes to stay for free and any flexibility can screw a landlord over. SOmething like not charging a late fee or agreeing to take rent late can allow someoen to stay for free for a long time. The bad apples ruin it for the good people and don't allow landlords to be flexible.

I'll give you a situation, unrelated to landlord but something that happenned to my business. Someone wrote my company a bad check for $3800. I try to collect get the runaround. Finally I tell them I'm going to call the police, all the sudden he's willing to pay $700 and will pay the rest later he's traveling or something. He has his brother come by and give us $700 cash. I think I'm being reasonable and allowing someone to right a mistake. I never hear from the guy again so I call the cops. Well me taking that $700 now constitutes me accepting a payment plan and it's no longer a criminal matter for check kiting or whatever thats called. This is unrelated to real estate but shows how you can fuck yourself over trying to be a nice guy. End of story I never got the rest of the money.

As far as a two month leaving clause, that's pretty standard with leases, if you someone is not happy about what's in the contract try to get it amended when you sign or don't sign the contract but don't agree to it and then whine that its not fair later. Also, when your deciding to buy a house maybe talk to the management company about breaking the lease early so you know what your in for and can make an educated decision before closing on a house.

I ran into a similar situation recently with my tenants. I have a house rented I said no pets in the listing and lease. When signing the women said they don't have any concrete plans to get a pet but that is something they may consider doing down the road. I said if they took care of the place I'd be open to it but there would be a pet deposit and/or additional monthly fee and please check with me before doing anything. Well one day I get a call they got a cat. I tell them I'm going to require a security deposit or increase rent. She tells me that's unreasonable. I tell her it's unreasonable she is breaking the lease and at no point checked with me. SHe wants to whine about what I'm charging her for getting a cat, had she checked with me first she would have found out and maybe decided not to get a cat or we could have discussed it and come to a reasonable agreemtn together however when you go behind my back and do somethign which breaks the lease and then wnat to whine about what the pet deposit is after the fact I'm not going to be very flexible.

It just seems to me that tenants want to bitch and moan if a landlord doesn't keep up their end of the bargain and do everything according to the lease, however tenants then want to be able to change the terms or dictate whats a reasonable fee for this or that. If you're not happy with the lease dont' sign it but don't complain about what's in it after the fact.

You and the OP seem to say 2 months rent is unreasonable, that is pretty standard for most leases and a tenant knows all this going in, that's what the point of a lease is.

Lastly as far as the 2 month or 5 month leaving clause I'm confuesed about that. THe OP clearly said they were going to charge him 2 months rent as leaving clause but at the end all the sudden they were going to charge him 5 months so I'm kind of confused about that part. I'm in total agreement 5 months is unreasonable and agree they have a duty to try to rent it and save him money but two months is standard, is reasonalbe and was known to the OP upfront when he signed hte lease and when he bought a house knowing he would have to break his lease.

I'm not trying to argue with you just share my point of view. This whole landlord vs tenant thing is an ongoing thing on many real estate message boards with landlords saying tenants are deadbeats and tenants saying landlords are assholes. It's a shame that in this day and age you can't really be reasonable with people because some people game the system and some laws in certain areas are setup to where you can be totally fucked over for trying to be lenient or decent with people.

Post: #25

What state are you in, if you don't mind me asking?
Laws are different in most states.