Anyone Here Ever Broken a Lease???

While waiting for our house to be built we had no idea how long it would take and it ended up being ready 2 months before our lease was up.

We read our contract and found the "reletting fee" and ran the numbers to see if it was worth it to us to pay the fee and get into our new house. I can't remember what percentage of the rent we had to pay, but we did do it. Then we had to wait like 60 days to get our security deposit back, but we also got that back from the complex.

Just read your contract in detail before making any decsions as all apartment complexes are different.

I would say get your lease out and read it... sometimes there are provisions in it for breaking the lease.

But that would be your first step- read the whole thing and see if there are any clauses in it that would allow you to step out of your lease. Perhaps because you have a daughter and are fixing to have a son- if you do not have enough bedrooms and they cannot provide you with an apartment for your family size... it may be a condition to break the lease. Just a thought. Many people think there are no way out, when there actually are... just have to read all the fine print.

Hope this helps some.

I have broken a lease. The just charged a reletting fee. I think it was somewhere around $350. I would talk to your property manager. Apartments are usually more understanding about these things than private rentals. As for charging you for the rest of your rental contract, they can't do that. If they rent the property to someone else they CANNOT charge you for rent also. If they try to do that, fight them on it. As long as you leave the apartment in good condition and pay the reletting fee, you should not have a problem with anything on your credit. Good luck.

i've broken a lease on a rent house. We only broke it two months early because the house we were buying was ready. The landlord found a new tenant before our rent was due. If they had not we would have had to continue to pay rent until they found a new tenant. I would go talk to the people at your appartment and see if they will work with you. Just be open and upfront. I've heard of it being the responsibility of the tenant to find a new one. I'm sure the appartment has some sort of standard policy in place. Maybe your dad will work with you if you do have to pay double rent until a new tenant for the appartment is found. Or maybe he will let you do repairs/ work on the house in exchange for rent. Good luck.

by the way I've moved both times i've been pregnant. it's not that bad. But i wasn't as far along as you. Seems like a great opportunity though to get a house!

This may not help much. I've only broken one lease. We went and talked to the apartment manager and told her the situation (granted she knew we hadn't been happy since we moved in). She told us how much it would cost and actually let us pay it over a month or so. As far as I know, and this was true for us, as long as you pay the fines and what you owe them, it cannot go on your credit report.
I hope this is true for you because it sounds like you have a great opportunity. Good luck!

I haven't personally broken a lease but I have worked in the mortgage business and seen what happens when you do. The landlord will stick you with oweing a balance based on your lease contract- in many cases there is a penalty fee and they may tag on the other 6 months of rent to the balance even if they rent it out to another person (it doesn't seem fair but I have seen it done). Most people do not pay that upon move out and it does go on your credit report. Even if you pay it upon move out, the problem you could run into is when you go to buy a home and they need to contact that landlord. If however you plan to be at your fathers house for a long time they may not need to call them (if the collection isnt' on the credit). Rules are changing more and more on how far back they go for verifications. FYI if you do move to you fathers house, treat it like a real tenant landlord relationship. Have the lease in place, cut him a CHECK not cash every month. I suggest from the start saving your cancelled rent checks because you may need them later. For a rent verification from a relative they almost always require cancelled rent checks to show that you did actually pay on time. They won't take your dad's word for it like they would for a third party.

If you have an agreement w/ your landlord to get out of the lease- get it from them in writing, on their letterhead and NEVER lose that letter. That is golden since properties change management hands alot. Records get lost. Hope that helps!

To be honest, as long as you have the money to break the lease, I'd do it. It is so nice to have a house, esp. when you have kids and getting in there asap will be best since you have a 2nd on the way. It is a lot more work at first to have 2. Don't worry though, everyone quickly adjusts.

We broke our lease when we lived in an apt. when a great deal on a rental house came open. 18months later we bought our first house. We did pay the fees to break the lease and I don't think it affected our credit at all. We got a great rate on our home loan anyway. Go to www.daveramsey.com and see if you can get in touch with anyone there that might know if it will affect your credit. Maybe also check with one of the credit reporting agencies or the apt. complex. I don't remeber when we had to pay the fees for breaking the lease, but it was probably pretty quickly. My complex's mgmt. was not upset by us breaking our lease. It was all business. Good luck and congrats on all the exciting changes coming your way!

ps. don't forget to consider the school dd will be attending in a few years if you are planning on sending her to public school. There are some great charter schools around too as a public/free alt., but there is a waiting list and lottery to get in., FYI

I just read some great advice below that I second. Get everything in writing (It already should be in your lease agreement) and reciepts when you have paid any fees. Also take pictures (with dates -lots of them-) to prove you left the apt. in great shape so you can get your security deposit back.

S., we broke a lease to move into our home. So long as you pay whatever penalty or fee is stipulated in your rental agreement, you are fine-- no reprocussions to your credit or anything.

For us, we had to pay a flat $1000 fee to break the lease. It hurt, but hey, we got a house! In our circumstance, b/c we were buying new construction, they ended up giving us a credit back on our closing costs to make up for our penalty fee.

Look at your lease, see what you are on the hook for money wise, and decide if it is worth it to get a house. Perhaps you can ask the father to give you a free month's rent in order to make up for the penalty?

Good luck.

I spent 10+ years in property management and now work for a software company specializing in property management. You need to immediately talk to management and find out what their policy is in this specific situation. She could charge you the Cost of reletting and that's it. She could charge you the Cost of reletting plus accelerated rent, which is rent billed on your unit until the next person moves in. But all of this is determined by the Management Company. If you have to make arrangements to pay out what you owe, get it in writing. And stick with the arrangement. If you don't take care of this correctly, it can definitely harm you credit report. You will have a difficult time finding a decent place to rent. You will also have trouble when you try to by a home and it shows you owe money to a Property Management Co. You can contact me directly if you would like.

Subleasing a possibility??

Hi S., I agree with Rebecca H. I have broken a less before to move into a home. And Yes the apt did put it on our credit. I am not gonna lie about that but it does not hurt your Credit as much as these others are saying! Plus once you move into a home you will NEVER go back to an apt. I know its not the right thing to do but you need to think about whats best for you and your family! Plus sometimes even when you fullfill you lease you still wind up getting SCREWED (excuse my language) by the property mangement companys. They will come back and say something about the place so that way they can keep your money! That happened to us we rented a house here in keller for 3 years always paid our rent before the due date, made sure the house was cleaner then when we 1st got there and the PM company wrote me a letter saying that the house was a mess and that they had to replace the carpet and so on and so forth! I saved those letters becasue little did they know I moved next door to the my old house and they never did one thing to the house not even paint! I took before and after pictures for my own keeping and good thing i did because they kept my $2300.00 saying they house was trashed and it was not so therefore we lost 2300.00 cuz it was gonna cost us more than that to fight it in court! So My advice to you is do what you think is best for your Family!!

GOOD LUCK!

It looks like you got some very good advice regarding breaking the lease. I've never done that before and don't have much to say about that.

I would like to encourage you to carefully consider the notion of renting from your dad. Make sure you guys treat it like a real business transaction - do a real contract, written down, signed, all the expectations laid out clearly. Pay on time, pay the penalty if late, treat the house with respect.

Make sure you keep the business relationship and the family relationship separate.

I've seen this kind of thing backfire on a personal level when something got out of whack on the business end, and vice versa.

There is nothing wrong with renting from family - just be careful to respect one another.

I broke a lease, but it was years ago. The only advice I can get is: make sure you get everything in writing. If the manager says, "You will only need to pay this much." then make sure you have it in writing. If you have it written and signed, then you are safe. When I broke my lease the apartment complex tried to get more money out of me but because I had an agreement in writing, I was safe. No matter how much a person acts nice, protect yourself. They are a business so they should understand.

If you've lived there for three and a half years with no problems, I'd go talk to the landlord. Tell them your situation, but due you might blame it on the economy rather than 'a better opportunity'. Maybe phrase it as "moving in with family to reduce expenses" or something.

I've had to do this before, and ended up paying one months rent additional (Move out by April 30, pay through May 30) to give the apartment complex time to find a new renter without losing money.

I also left the apartment spotless, and had pictures and video to prove it - just in case they tried to attack me with penalties after a change of heart. (They didn't).

S.

Speak to your apt manager re what steps you need to take re breaking your lease.

I am sure there will be a fee...but i found in my case it did not break me from my contract to pay each months rent even though i was no longer living there.

In my position i worked for atty's and had the law on my side.

I notified the apt that if they were renting out an apt just like mine that the law states that they MUST rent my apt out first and not sit on it and collecting rent.

That I would check in on them weekly to see if people have been looking into my floorplan and if they rented it out or not.

It did help that my managing partner wrote a letter as well.

Lets just say my apt was rented out in two weeks!

step 1 - talk to the manager of your apartment complex and BE HONEST with them. report back after you do that and we'll go from there. you will be surprised at how reasonable people can be at times. good luck!

I used to work for an apartment management company (but go to school full-time for my master's degree now). I agree with a lot of the posts about talking to your manager and also looking at your lease. TAA leases state you pay a reletting fee, which is 85% of your monthly rent. The reletting fee is just to put the ad in the paper and get it ready (cleaning maintenance)to, well, relet. If it is a TAA lease, the ONLY way to get out of your lease is if you or your husband is in the military and is shipped out, scarily enough, not even death releases you from the lease. Often, apartments have their own policies though. I don't know the policies your apartments have on moving out, but sometimes, if you are able to find someone, who is approved, to complete your lease, it makes things a lot easier and smoother, and you wouldn't have to pay the reletting fee. Again, I think it best to talk with the manager. Some apartments want you to pay each month until the apartment is rented, and others all at once (which really made no sense to me, because the apartment could be rented within a month or two of you moving out). If nothing else, perhaps you can make arrangements, pay a certain amount each month until it is rented to avoid a bad credit rating.
I'm sure they will work with you. They just want their money, and apartments understand that it is more difficult to get the money after a resident moves out, because they don't have that leverage (eviction, lien, etc.). Good luck.

Hi S.,

The last poster had many good points but my husband and I have had to break a few leases in our lifetime. My husband does have one eviction on his credit and I do as well from an apt complex back in 2003. We have continued to rent for YEARS and NEVER had a problem finding a home.
You just have to find independently owned properties that don't check your credit. You can ask them up front if they charge an app fee and the majority of those that do WILL check credit. If they do not charge for an app fee, they will only check personal references.
So coming from someone who had to break leases, it is possible to find a new place even if they put the apt complex on your credit. Also, it has to go off your credit after 7 yrs so if you stay in your dads house for 7 yrs, then it won't be on your credit anymore!
I moved during a pregnancy and it's hard but your hubby will have to do most of everything! IF your husband is too nervous to break the lease and your dad can rent the house for 6 mnths then have him do so and then you won't have to worry about anything. Or like the other poster said, maybe he can let you live there rent free for a few mnths until you pay off your current lease.

Anyhow, good luck to you and don't live with any regrets. If it's a good oppurtunity, then you should take it.......hope you get a lot of helpful advice here!

take care!

Hi S. -

The best thing for you and your husband to do is to see if you can find someone to sublease it until the end of your lease. Most Apartment management companies will charge you the remaining rent of your of your lease. This has happened to both me and my brother who moved for a promotion. It will stay on your credit for 7 years or more. Th eonly way my brother got out of his was because he now lives in a garnishing state which was threatening to take the monies owed out of his pay check so he ended up having to file bankrutcy. He has since rebuilt his credit and has really good credit now but it was a nightmare. I believe all leases have that clause that says you can pay a reletting fee but the truth is do you really think they will tell you if they lease the apartment out within a month if they can collect from 2 people. unfortunately not in my experience nor with anyone that I know personally. Unless you are going into the military. Bottom line check with other family memebers or friends that you trust to see if they would like to sub lease it from you guys even if it means you paying $50 or $100 a month o fthe rent and they pay the rest to get someone in there quickly.Good Luck

I broke my 12 month lease 2 months after moving in. I had no choice, I had lost my job and could no longer afford it. I had to pay the penalty fees (one month's rent at current market rate, I think). I, then, moved to Texas (from California) 6 months later and had no problem renting again out here. I was required to pay an additional deposit but it wasn't too bad. Good luck to you!

I broke a lease in Florida when I was laid off from my job and was offered a position in here in Texas. Florida law may well be a little different from Texas, but I can tell you how it was for me. I did talk honestly to the management. I was told by a particularly helpful rental agent that although I was on the hook till the end of my lease... IF they rented out my particular apartment after I left, I would only be liable up to the point they rented it. They can't legally claim two people should be paying rent on the same apartment. So, if you can find someone to take your apartment you may get out of it. As far as fees for breaking the lease, you will likely get a couple of months as they will probably go through the process of sending you a certified letter, and giving you so long to pay up. It is a hassle for them to go through the paperwork to go after you. Yes, paying the fees immediately will keep it off your credit report. If you owe and pay later, it may or may not hit your report depending on whether they want to hassle with filing against you. In my case, they didn't - but I think it is because they rented out my unit pretty fast and it wasn't worth it to them. Good luck.

I am a real estate broker & property manager. I would recommend speaking with the property manager at your apartment complex. See if you can negotiate a buy-out. If so, make sure you get everything in writing. With the economy in the state it's in, something is better than nothing. Texas property code does not allow a landlord to collect rent from 2 tenants. In other words, if you move you would automatically lose your deposit, but you are only responsible for the rent until new tenants are procured.

Your DH is right, if you just move out it will likely end up on your credit report as a collection, and show up as a lease violation hurting your rental history.

It sounds like it would be worth a try to talk to the property manager. Since you have a little one and another on the way, they might be inclined to work something out with you. Especially if you've been a good tenant.

Situations arise like this all the time with rental agreements. That's why, in any rental agreement, there are stipulations concerning breaking a lease. As long as you follow the guidelines of the contract that you signed, you should have no backlash on your credit/rental history. Be aware that the contract most likely states that you pay more money to get out of the contract, so be prepared to fork over some money.

its probably going to depend on the apartment complex...we recently broke our lease, and yes, there was a fine for breaking it...i think it was about $500... but they didn't make us pay the months we had left or anything...we had about 8 months left on our lease...
i would just go ask the manager....explain the financial situation, and how you have this great opportunity, and ask how they can work with you. our place was super cool about it...we paid the fine for breaking our lease...but that was all. but we did have to pay that before moving out. i don't know about it affecting our credit...i didn't think it would, but i didn't ask that.
i would ask them directly...hopefully they will work with you! :)
good luck!

Yes, we broke a lease 19 years ago to move from an apartment to base housing. They did expect the fees to be paid right away and when they weren't it was turned over to a collection agency. I would pay now vs later, it isn't worth the trouble and anxiety of having constant calls and letters from people chasing after the money.

I work for a management company. If you talk to the management, be sure that you talk to the manager, not leasing staff or assistants as they do not have authority to make final decisions. Get any agreements in writing. Read your lease very carefully. It is a legal and binding contract. Also read any addendums to the lease that you may have signed. Some properties have an early termination addendum which requires you to pay as much as a full months rent in addition to the reletting fee and the rent that you would be responsible for during the notice period. Some addendums also allow them to charge back any concessions or specials you may have been given if you do not fulfill the lease. All of these fees are legal if they are spelled out in the documents you have signed. You need to be aware of how many days notice you are required to give. A lot of properties are now requiring 60 days notice. Be sure that when you do give notice, that you do it in writing and use the form that they should have in their office. If you do not use their form, get something from them in writing acknowledging that they received your notice. As far as accelerated rent is concerned, they can charge it, but a lot of properties don't - it is too much hassle to keep up with who still owes money and whether the apartment has been leased. The company I work for does not do accelerated rent. But we send the file to collections after 30 days if you have not paid in full - we do not do payment plans because we simply are not in the business of collections. Also, they have to mail you a statement of charges or your deposit refund within 30 days of move out. It must be postmarked within 30 days, but it is your responsibility to give a forwarding address. All they have to show is that it was mailed. If you fail to provide a forwarding address and it comes back undeliverable, they have done their part. If you leave and owe money and it goes to collections most reputable management companies will not lease to you until you no longer have a housing debt. For my company, if you have an eviction on your record it is an automatic NO forever. It is always in your best interest to make a clean break and not owe any money when you move out. These things have a way of haunting people for years. This advice is good for anyone who lives in an apartment. People just do not take the lease seriously and I get so many calls from nice people who just did not understand what the lease meant. Hope this helps.

I will give you a landlord's point of view. If it was us, I would want you to tell me the situation you are in. This is a good time of year for this to happen as many people are moving. I would want you to work with me - ie. show the house to prospective renters, have the house clean so that it shows well. If we find someone to rent the house, I allow them to break the lease, no problem. However, I had people abandon one of my houses in March, so I have sent their information of what they owe me to a collection agency that will hit their credit. The only way they can get it off their credit report is to pay what they owe. Please just don't move away without telling your landlord. If you do, you will have big consequences. My advice would be to work with the landlord so that it's a win-win situation for everyone.

Hi S.
I used to work in Property Managment too. Sherry M gave you correct information. Worst case scenario is that they will charge you the reletting fee and you will still owe all rent due until the end of the lease, unless they rent the apartment out before your lease is done.
Good Luck!
K.

Hi S.,

Unless you have legal reason to break the lease doing so could be risky. I would suggest you have a talk with the manager/landlord and see if he or she will let you out of it. Who knows....it doesn't hurt to ask.

Another option might be to see if your dad can rent the house to someone else for a year, and then have them move....if he wants to do that. Or, he might get lucky enough to find someone that only wants it for a year.

Or, would your dad possibly let you move in for a few months rent free, or at a discount so you can afford to buy your self out of the lease?

If you can't get out of it legally then it's not a good idea to do it because that is not a bridge you want to burn behind you, and yes it will follow you for years, be on your credit record.....AND you could find yourself in court...and that costs money as well. Better read up on the rental laws in TX. to find out details about lease breaking without buying yourself out before you make any decisions.

Just ask your landlord. It can't hurt to ask. He may be able to get more rent from a new tenant so he might not mind breaking the lease.

Talk to your Leaseholder. They may let you out of your lease without any penalties if they can lease your apartment fairly quickly. Tell them your situation and ask if you can terminate your lease early. It won't hurt and they may work with you.

you need to talk with the manager if you pay what they ask and some fees theres no problem at all

My son had to break a lease because of a job move and it was very costly. PLease do not walk away from this it could effect your credit in a big way. My advice to you would be to talk to the apt about your opportunity and what your options are BEFORE you make your decision. Let them know you want to do the right thing-and ask for their input. Praying for guidance in making this decision for you!

just talk to the land lords and see if you can work out an agreement. Usually you will just pay an early move out fee and go on. Read your lease and see what is involved in an early move out. If you play your cards right, it should not hurt you. Sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do, but you probably will just have to pay an early move out fee and will lose your deposit.

Hi S.,

You don't want to just move out, If you do they can put it on your credit as that will show you as a risk if you ever move into a appartment again. my sister did this three times and it is hurting her now. Plus if you ever go to buy something it can hurt you there. Its better to go to the people and talk about re-letting your appartment they would rather do that then you just abandon it. They can come after you for the full years lease instead of what you owed. After she broke her second lease she tried to get another one and they have what you call second chance but you wind up in the worse part of town. She broke her lease the first time cause she couldnt afford to live there cause she went in the hospital secind time she was robbed , third time she got sick again and had to move cause se lost her job now she is not able to get on her own and now she lives with who ever wil take her in. She can't buy a car of she needs one unles it is through a used car dealer who doesnt check credit. Protect your credit its very important as we get older we start to settle down and make a life want to buy a house stuff like that sometimes even your job depends on your credit. Talking never hurts, at least try to save your credit.

T.

Read your rental agreement. Sometimes they will have a clause in there where if you break the lease you have to pay a re-letting fee, usually about one months rent, but that can vary. Take your lease and talk to the management at your complex. If you have break the lease and owe the property money, it can cause problems in the future with leasing a property, if you should need to do so. Good luck!