If You Must Break a Lease, Proceed With Caution
Life is unpredictable. Folks fall in and out of love, find jobs and lose them ... and along the way, leases are broken.
How do you break a lease without breaking the bank and losing your entire security deposit? Or your credit and credibility? By following the six Cs:
* Contemplate. Sit down and assess the situation, looking at the big picture. If the cause is a lost job, honestly decide if you’ll find another and how soon. If you have savings to cushion the job loss, give yourself a deadline to find another job in the area. Ditto for a relationship loss or adjustment.
Make sure your situation has to change and will be permanent. I’ve had couples call me to say, “The relationship is over,” only to retract their notice days later since their problem was “just a misunderstanding.”
A terrific tenant called awhile back to say he was quitting his job and relocating.
“Where?” I asked.
“Don’t know,” he replied.
I suggested he decide where he was moving to before he gave notice and went through the aggravation of changing jobs and finding a new home. He started looking around at rental prices and decided to stay. Prices were higher than he imagined. He found a better job two days later. He remained in the place for another two years, at which time he bought a condominium.
Can you afford the rent alone? Perhaps getting a roommate would solve the problem, but do your homework first. Most leases allow subletting only with the owner’s or manager’s written permission. Some folks break their leases because the place was not up to expectations or as advertised. Perhaps the place was advertised as being gated (controlled access) but the gate never stays shut. Maybe you were promised fresh carpet and the old one never left. Sometimes the neighbors are night owls when you are the early-bird type. Before you ruffle feathers or take flight, write up a list of specific problems.
* Communicate. Pick up the phone and call the manager. Explain the situation in a calm and honest manner. Remember that you’ve signed a legally binding contract, obligating you to a commitment of time, behavior and space.
Every company has a different policy regarding breaking that obligation. Some are very strict and require you to pay the rent until you’re replaced, no matter how long it takes (which may not be upheld, since according to current case law owners must make a “good faith effort”). Others allow you to give 30 days’ written notice and head out for a new life. If it’s a grievance, try to work out a mutually agreeable solution.
* Cost. The cost of breaking a lease is more than just rent, it can also include the cost of restoring the place as when first rented--without the cushion of “wear and tear” at your side as a defense. After all, the place was probably just prepared for your tenancy with fresh paint and clean floors. Applicants were advertised for and screened and you were the one who was chosen. Consequently, the cost of advertising the vacancy could also be on your nickel, along with credit checks for new candidates.
Can you be charged a re-rental commission or fee? If it’s the actual owner doing the work, usually not. If they have a manager or agent on commission for the job, then possibly yes. Depends on prevailing case law, which changes with every court ruling.
* Correspond. After you’ve spoken to the manager/landlord, be sure to follow up your conversation with written notice. Whatever the circumstance, 30-day written notice by the tenant to the owner is required (per Civil Code) in California. Keep a copy.
* Cooperate. When the landlord calls for a showing, be cheerful and make showings easy. Keep the place clean and in the kind of condition you’d imagine would tempt others to take the place (as you once did). Leave the unit during showings--managers generally prefer privacy when explaining the features of the place and meeting prospective tenants.
* Cheer up. Nothing lasts forever. Not relationships or leases. But keeping a good reputation will carry on long after the situation has come and gone.
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H. May Spitz is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer. Comments may be sent to hmayspitz@aol.com.
