I'm about to be laid off from my job and will only have two weeks severance pay. There is no way I can continue to pay my lease...does anyone know of a way I can legally break the lease b/c of my situation?

ugh. I can't believe this is happening.

You can negotiate damn near anything, but I'm pretty sure you're on the hook in the legal sense. A lot of people get transferred, sick, laid off, etc. and a lot of landlords will cut them some slack if they can fill the vacancy quickly. If you could find somebody to move into your place, it would help your cause quite a bit.

Oh my goodness...I am so screwed!

nm

[This message has been edited by Roger That (edited 12/2/2003 8:52p).]

Yes...in June...and now they are closing down the Houston office. I think I'll be employed through the end of December.

tough deal. good luck.

Now might be the time to call mom and dad and beg.

The only way to be released from a lease with out a penalty is to be called into active service and transferred in the military. There is no “lose your job” clause. In fact, you can die and legally you (or your benefactors) are still responsible to complete the contract. The best bet is to go talk to your landlord to see if they can cut you a deal or replace you for a minimal cost. They are, however, under no obligation to do so.

They may also be willing to let you pay partial payments until you can get back on your feet. They will probably require that you enter into a payment plan to catch up on the unpaid rent during those times.

Thanks for the advice. I'll contact my apt mgr and see if I can work something out.

If calling mom and dad was an option, I would do it, but they aren't in any position to help me out financially. I'm usually the one helping them.

I cannot believe the mess I'm in!

aka...

yep, just tell the Apt Mgr your situation. If you have a friend you could move in with, you might even suggest to the apt mgr you'll pay $25-$50/month of the rent for the remainder of the lease so they can more easily get another renter..... or if they'll just let you sub-lease your apt, you'd still be on the hook so find someone you can trust.. if need be you could still pay say $25-$50 month of their rent...

You'd need to ask a lawyer, but I think that the landlord is required by law to attempt to mitigate damages.

If you move out early, they have to try to find someone to take your place. They can't just charge you for the remaining period left in the contract.

I seem to remember seeing something about landlords even being required to try to find someone to rent an apartment that someone left early ahead of finding someone to rent an apartment that is open because someone left after their contract was up.

Usually, you have 2 choices.

1) Break the lease and pay the termination fee set out in your contract (usually equal to one month's rent); or
2) Break the lease without paying the termination fee, in which case the landlord is required to make a good faith effort to fill the apartment with a new tenant, but you still owe rent each month until the apartment is filled.

I chose option 1 when I broke my lease in Dallas to move back to CS and go to grad school.

Actually, the landlord is not required to rent that apartment at all. And technically speaking, your rent is accelerated to the end of your lease. This means if your rent is $500/month and you have ten months left then you owe $5,000 now. Plus you still owe the reletting fee, which is generally 85% of one months rent. Of course if the apartment is released then you will receive a refund for those day that you have already paid starting from the point that the new resident moves in.

Further, sub-leasing in the sense that everyone knows it is not allowed in most cases. This means that someone else is living in the apartment but not on the lease and you are elsewhere. I can transfer the lease terms, which means that a person takes over your lease granted they are approved by the manager to do so. This keeps all liability off of you if they screw things up.

Of course, all of the above is assuming you signed a TAA lease

Just wander around the complex naked, and pooping on the sidewalks. They will happy to let you go.

Call a temp to perm agency now & start looking so you have something relatively good come the end of Dec.

Sorry to hear.

wh99p is correct.

An apartment complex doesn't have to put any effort at all into leasing an apt that is vacated prior to the lease expiration. They can rent every other vacant unit in the complex before they even offer the unit with the lease violation as an available unit. The company is already guaranteed the money for the unit, so they don't have to get another renter into that unit.

Example:

Joe finds a complex that he likes and moves into a unit. The complex still has 20 vacant units after he signs a one year lease for 500/month.
He then decides after two months that he's leaving. He still owes 5,000 for the remaining rent along with a reletting fee for vacating early.
The complex can try and fill the 20 remaining vacant units before telling any prospective tenants that Joe's apt is available. However, if the complex WANTS to help Joe and find someone for that particular unit they can. If someone moves into THAT UNIT, Joe's financial obligation is over on the move-in date of the new tenant.

There is no "good faith" obligation to rent the apt, it's up to the management company to decide if they want to do that.

I thought if you paid the break the lease penalty, they HAD to push that apartment first before filling the others. I have been told this by two separate complexes.

Also, if you break a lease, doesn't it go on your credit report (if you care about that stuff.)

Bottom line is that renters in Texas have zero rights. It is almost impossible to get out of a lease. Gawd, I hate apartments.

I'm not trying to be callous to your situation...I just want you to know what you're facing.

You need to be honest with the management and see what they will do to help you out.

Thanks for spelling that all out for us Soagl. I was sooooooooo confused. Could I have some instructions on how to breath too?

Oh, shut up.

quote:

---

Bottom line is that renters in Texas have zero rights. It is almost impossible to get out of a lease. Gawd, I hate apartments.

---

Why do you think that you have a right to get out of a legal contract just because you want to? Renters have many rights but so do the management companies. Think of the chaos that would be if everyone did not have to live up to the contract. You think you can get out of a mortgage just because you lose your job or want to move elsewhere?

quote:

---

I thought if you paid the break the lease penalty, they HAD to push that apartment first before filling the others. I have been told this by two separate complexes.

---

No, it's not true.

quote:

---

wh99p is correct.

---

Please read my post. In his case that may have happened, but the letter of the law (lease) is as I have stated.

quote:

---

Also, if you break a lease, doesn't it go on your credit report (if you care about that stuff.)

---

yes is does, but only if you owe money.

[This message has been edited by Reloadags1998 (edited 12/3/2003 10:33a).]

In most states, possibly all states, the landlord MUST mitigate damages. That is, he must try to rent that apartment out to someone else.

My understanding is that Texas is in fact such a state.

From http://apartments.about.com/cs/landlordtenant/a/breaklease_2.htm:

quote:

---

Make sure the landlord is doing everything he can to mitigate his losses. What does this mean? The landlord is required by law to do everything in his power to re-rent the unit as quickly as possible. He isn't required to give your unit any precedence, but neither can he just leave it empty to keep collecting from you. How can you check? Look at the classifieds to see if he is advertising it. If you still live in the area, drive by to see if there is activity in your old apartment. Talk to neighbors to see if anyone new has moved in or if the unit has been shown.

---

Thanks Reloadags....

my point about having zero rights was not just about contracts and getting out of them. I feel that goes for everything that makes apartment life suck- you cant do anything about it to fight your case. Cant withold rent, cant just move- you are at the mercy of the management office re: crappy neighbors, crappy grounds-keeping, crappy everything. My apartments were super nice when I moved there. Now all of a sudden there are all these trashy thug-4-lifers living there. Eyesores galore in the parking lot, etc. That is what I meant. I dont think someone should be able to back out of a signed contract just because.

Ok, you are right, that is under the Texas Property Code Section 91.006. However, it is to be treated as a normal vacancy and given no preferential treatment above any other available units. (Which is what you said)

[This message has been edited by Reloadags1998 (edited 12/3/2003 11:59a).]

You can put you rent into an escrow account if you are having legitimate problems that are not being addresses and you have adhered to the lease contract in full. There are things that can be done...trust me, I see people using their rights all the time.