breaking a lease agreement with a room mate involved

atjays
atjays Posts: 797 Member
edited December 17 in Chit-Chat
Anyone have experience with breaking lease agreements? I moved back to my home city from college in January due to work, I had a two bedroom apartment with a guy. Am I able to pay a penalty to break my part of the lease and be free and clear or am I likely to get sued?? It would be extremely beneficial if I could pay $500 or something now instead of the $1500 for rent thru August...

Any advice or experience is helpful. I'll find out tomorrow what the break penalty is.

Replies

  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Call your landlord and discuss it with him/her. Without access to the actual lease agreement, there's very little anyone can say here.

    Some leases allow you to rent independently (separate leases for each person) and some are joint. Joint leases can be tricky with deposits unless you have a written agreement with your roommate that determines who pays what and who gets what back when you leave.

    Sometimes if you are in a tricky spot, finding someone else to take over your part of the lease is a good compromise, provided your roommate and landlord agree.
  • Nerple
    Nerple Posts: 1,291 Member
    Most of that should probably be in your lease agreement. Penalties for breaking leases and such have always been in mine.
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 797 Member
    Yeah I'll have to get that info tomorrow and go from there.
  • Ocarina
    Ocarina Posts: 1,550 Member
    I've seen people try to get someone else to pick up the lease agreement on Craigslist and such. Maybe you can find someone to take it over so your roommate isn't stuck with the full rent bill. But that's only assuming without reading your lease agreement. Hope you can work something out.
  • wendyco
    wendyco Posts: 122 Member
    So I've heard that MOST complex, depending on what state, are OBLIGATED to dismiss your lease if the reason you are moving or moved out is due to relocation of work more than 50 miles from where you were living. I heard this from a friend and from a realtor in WA when I was moving into my house from an apartment, but since I was only moving 20 miles away it did not work. \

    Not sure if this would have to be a relocation work related or not, but you can check it out. Also, do not know if it applies to ALL landlords, but I know that it works with my complex and several others.

    If you are part of the lease, you can only work things out with a landlord, but YOU MUST do so before stopping payment, or else you'll be found liable for it in addition to any cost the prosecutor may incur for the lawsuit.

    Check out if this applies to you though, because your landlord may have no choice but to let you out of the lease and return deposit.
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