How do I get out of a lease?

[Dinner]

I don't know why your lease would automatically renew after one year. In California that would be illegal.

BTW How much of a Deposite did you give them? If it isn't much then just walk away. Or do an equal amount of damage to the place if you want to be a dick.

[asleepathewheel]

Do not follow this advice:

Originally posted by GePap
I have never seen a case of a tenant being forced to pay for an apartment they do not live in-speak to a housing lawyer, but honestly, if you vacate the apartment, I doubt there is anything the landlord can do to you other than keep your safety deposit- as long as you acknowledge that you are OUT and have no plans of coming back- a lease is not exactly an iron clad document.

I assume that the landlord does not take money right out of your account, that you have to pay monthly, so honestly, I assume if you were to send him a letter, certified mail (crucial), stating that you were surrendering the apartment, then moved out and went into the new place, the only thing he could do would be to take you to housing court to claim the missing rent, but if you had proof that you surrendered the apartment, including Keys, that you had moved out completely, and that during that time you had actually not been in the apartment, I don't see how the courts would force you to pay for services you never received, specially if the landlord then put the apartment back in the market and rented it out to someone new.

You must not have much life experience not to have seen someone sued (successfully) over back rent. This advice will get your ass sued so fast, or threatened into a settlement.

Not sure what the law is in VA, but hopefully, as in many states, there is a requirement that the landlord make a good faith effort to mitigate his damages, meaning that you might be on the hook for a few monhts, but not the whole time. Depends a lot on the local market.


apartment or house?
If I were you, and in an apartment, I would:
Call from a friends and ask how many open units there are at your current specs. Will give you an idea as to where your's would be in line if you moved out today.
If yours would be only 2 or 3 back, then I would make plans to vacate and try to work out a settlement, after vacating. Agree to pay a few months rent or something.
You can also run your own advertisements offering money off rent if someone gets a lease from the landlord.

Again, you are not the only one who has duties here. Its quite likely the landlord has the duty to mitigate his damages.

I got out of a lease last year shortly after signing, facing about the same amount. I had a friend attorney write a nasty letter and I escaped with only losing about 1.5 months rent extra.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
His location says Virginia.... I assume that's not current?

Well, for Virginia, this is the site:

http://www.valegalaid.org/VA/index.cfm

Leases exist mianly for the protection of the Tenant, not the landlord- after all, its not the landlord who might end up in the streets if the lease is broken. Again, I doubt many houisng courts in the land will make someone pay for services they never receieved based on a lease.

Making up lies for you to get evicted is not a very wise strategy-I mean, really, what can he do? Again, all he can do if you leave is take you to housing court to claim back rent, but if you can show you moved out completely and took up residence elsewhere, beyond keeping the safety deposit, what can he do?? Especially if he decides to rent the place once you leave, which unless the housing market is crap, should not be an issue.

[notyoueither]

Go with the homeless guys. Make five guys happy for a few days.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I don't know why your lease would automatically renew after one year. In California that would be illegal.

Depends on the lease. If the lease said the property is leased year to year, then its automatic renewal. If it was a fixed time period (ie, lease ends mm/dd/yyyy) then it should terminate on that date.

Though I believe it wasn't an automatic renewal as much as he believed he was signing a month to month lease instead of a yearly lease.

[Dinner]

I'm not sure about VA but in CA a lease cannot automatically renew after it expires. It becomes month ot month unless you sign a new lease.

[GePap]

Originally posted by asleepathewheel
Do not follow this advice:



You must not have much life experience not to have seen someone sued (successfully) over back rent. This advice will get your ass sued so fast, or threatened into a settlement.

Not sure what the law is in VA, but hopefully, as in many states, there is a requirement that the landlord make a good faith effort to mitigate his damages, meaning that you might be on the hook for a few monhts, but not the whole time. Depends a lot on the local market.


apartment or house?
If I were you, and in an apartment, I would:
Call from a friends and ask how many open units there are at your current specs. Will give you an idea as to where your's would be in line if you moved out today.
If yours would be only 2 or 3 back, then I would make plans to vacate and try to work out a settlement, after vacating. Agree to pay a few months rent or something.
You can also run your own advertisements offering money off rent if someone gets a lease from the landlord.

Again, you are not the only one who has duties here. Its quite likely the landlord has the duty to mitigate his damages.

I got out of a lease last year shortly after signing, facing about the same amount. I had a friend attorney write a nasty letter and I escaped with only losing about 1.5 months rent extra.

NIce to know there are different opinions out there.....

I made it clear, contact a lawyer. I give no legal advice, but honeslty, you got out paying 1.5 months rent. Not bad, certainly not like having to pay 3 months, or 4 months.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Leases exist mianly for the protection of the Tenant, not the landlord- after all, its not the landlord who might end up in the streets if the lease is broken. Again, I doubt many houisng courts in the land will make someone pay for services they never receieved based on a lease.

Listen to asleep. I believe he's a lawyer as well (IIRC). You are on the hook for the lease contract. The good news is that there is a duty to mitigate.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


Depends on the lease. If the lease said the property is leased year to year, then its automatic renewal. If it was a fixed time period (ie, lease ends mm/dd/yyyy) then it should terminate on that date.

Though I believe it wasn't an automatic renewal as much as he believed he was signing a month to month lease instead of a yearly lease.

I've signed a number of leases in my life and they've all had a fixed duration. I conceed they've all been in California though and other states probably have different laws.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I've signed a number of leases in my life and they've all had a fixed duration. I conceed they've all been in California though and other states probably have different laws.

Doesn't mean all of them are fixed duration everywhere. Even in California, I'm sure they have perioidic tenancies. In fact, I'm sure of it.

[Zkribbler]

In Calif, usually a lease is for a term measured in years. Renting is month-to-month. If a person leasing stays beyond the term of hte lease, the relationship automatically becomes a month to month.

But here, aren't we talking about Virginia.

[GePap]

In terms of lookig at the law, go here:

http://realestate.findlaw.com/

Plug in your zip code and you should see the local laws regarding leases and their termination.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
In Calif, usually a lease is for a term measured in years. Renting is month-to-month. If a person leasing stays beyond the term of hte lease, the relationship automatically becomes a month to month.

But here, aren't we talking about Virginia.

Well that's the usual practice (what you said is usual in California). But with this landlord, with what's been described, may have done 'different' leases. Periodic tenancy leases are valid in most, if not all, states and he may have written that one in.

[bipolarbear]

Any other suggestions, or advice from past experiances?

There was a honeymooners episode where Jackie Gleason waned out of a lease. So he started to dance around banging pots and pans, and doing everything that he could within the rules to make them want him out of the lease.

There was also a Sopranos espisode similar to the Honeymooners epsiode. Both are good and worth a watch.

[Timexwatch]

Are there federal or state protections governing military personell that might let you off the hook for the lease? Can you fib and say that you are being transfered to Bremerton/Groton/San Diego/etc. or something?