What to fdo if my husband and I signed a 1 year lease 5 months ago but need to move out within the next month?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What to fdo if my husband and I signed a 1 year lease 5 months ago but need to move out within the next month?
Our landlord failed to list a start or end date on our contract. However, there is a clause stating that 2 months rent would be owed as a penalty is the lease is broken early. Since there was no end date listed, are we legally obligated to pay the penalty? And can our credit be harmed if we choose to move and don’t pay the penalty?
Asked on December 29, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Indiana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If the lease states that it is a one-year lease, even if the start and end dates are not listed, a court would interpret that it is one year from the date of signing. Or if there is other documentation indicating clearly what the length of the lease should be (e.g. emails or other corresonpdence between landlord and tenant; a rental application), then a court would likely find the date from that and conclude it was just a technical oversight to not also include that information in the lease. Therefore, it is likely that this would be enforced as a one-year lease. If you leave early, you will be in breach of the lease which could harm your credit; you will also have to pay the penalty you describe.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.