I'm going to have to break my lease in my apartment, I just can't afford to live there anymore. I'm having to move back in with my parents for a while, at least until my son's father starts being responsible and paying his child support.
Anyways - in my lease it says that if I break the lease I have to pay 2 months rent. Do rental agencies usually work with you to get this amount paid off or will I have to come up with this amount right away?
I'm more than willing to get this paid off, I don't want any negative hits on my credit, but at the same time, there's no way for me to come up with that amount of money by the end of August either. I'd be more than willing to work out some sort of payment plan to get this debt paid off as soon as I possibly can.
Please, no negative comments, I'm under enough stress and I don't need any negativity right now!
Thanks :)
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Just because something is in a lease, doesn't make it so. The lease must be in line with state/federal laws. Most states do not allow a landlord to arbitrarily decide what the penalty for breaking a lease will be. A landlord cannot "profit" from you moving out and, in most states, can only require that you pay his real damages that he incurred as a result of you moving out.
Send a certified letter to your landlord briefly notifying him of your hardship and that you will be moving out on [date]. Ask him to begin showing the apartment immediately. This gets the clock ticking. If he decides to not show the apartment for 6 weeks for whatever reason, he cannot then go into court and say he was unable to find a tenant. He can charge you for his reasonable costs to re-rent - advertising, fees, fixing damage, if the apartment is left vacant for a reasonable amount of time even though he tried diligently to re-rent. At the end of the day, these costs may add up to 2 months' rent. Do not assume this is the case however without reading up on specific landlord/tenant laws in your state. Someone here mentioned interest, garnishing wages, etc. Remember that the landlord does not make the laws, the court does. It does not sound like you are attempting to avoid paying what you legitmately owe. Do NOT assume because a landlord tell you it is owed, it is truly owed. And, in the end, if you make regular payments, nothing adverse can come of it.
It's typically "breach of contract" damages. That means the landlord may sue you for the costs they are actually out as a result of your breach of lease. On the flipside, the laws of most states require the landlord to make a good faith effort to miinimize losses caused by a breach of lease. That means the landlord must make an effort to find a new tenant if a tenant breaks a lease. So, at the high side, you could potentially be liable for the entire rent for the remainder of the lease. On the low side, you could conceivably be responsible for zero, if the landlord can find a new rent-paying tenant immediately and thus does not lose any rent.
The best place to ask that question is at the rental office. Tell them your situation and offer a payment plan.
Go into the office knowing what you can afford. Offer to pay that amount each month until the 2 months rent is paid complete. Also be prepared to explain that you can't just pay a full month's rent each month for 2 months because the whole reason you're moving out is that you can't afford a whole rent payment each month.
If you show them a plan to pay them within 3 or 4 months, they probably won't object. It will be easier for them to just accept the payment plan that you offer then for them to try to take you to small claims court. Even if they did take you to court, they wouldn't get paid any faster, so they will probably be reasonable with you.
I had to break a lease once. I owed 10 months worth of rent and they let me pay it out over a 4 or 5 month period. It did not have a negative impact on my credit. Hopefully they will work with you on this. Good luck
Even though it is in your contract you may could talk them out of it. Some people will work with you and it's definitely worth a try. If they won't cut down on the amount they should let you pay it out like you would if it was normal monthly rent.
It depends on your rental agency. They may be willing to let you pay it off over time, and they may not. If you have always paid your rent on time and have a good relationship with them, they are much more likely to consent to such a plan.
Good luck and I hope it works out for you.
Yes, they most assuredly will. Work out a payment plan.
In the end, if you refuse to pay anything, the landlord will be required to go to court and get a judgement before he can legally collect a dime from you. He will certainly work with you to avoid the hassle of court. If he is unreasonable about working with you, then tell him to sue you.
If the leasing company has stated that you must pay a certain amount to them. Then you should honor that contract. I would suggest that when you approach them with your notice to vacate you leave them with what I would call good faith money and what you can afford and what they will agree upon. I'm sure they would rather work with you than spend time dealing with this issue in court.
good luck