Can a sublandlord sue a subtenant for leaving the premises without sufficent notice on a 3 month rental?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can a sublandlord sue a subtenant for leaving the premises without sufficent notice on a 3 month rental?
I entered into an email sublease agreement with a sublandlord for a period of 3 months. We did not sign the sublease agreement (we were both just careless). She agreed for 3 family visits per month initially (over email) but later refused to allow my husband to visit me for more than once a month. I am pregnant and husband lives in another city. Given this situation, I find it very hard to live in this place. Can I simply move out (take my stuff out and give her the keys) and ask her to keep the deposit? I am 2 weeks late for paying of month 2 rent because of this.
Asked on July 12, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If the agreement had been signed, there is no doubt but that the sublandlord could sue you for providing insufficient notice. Since the agreement is not signed, she *probably* can only hold you liable for one month's rent, since typically, when there is no signed lease, a month-to-month tenancy (30 days notice to terminate) on an oral lease is created. However, it is possible that the sublandlord might argue, and a court might accept, that the failure to sign was a purely "ministerial" or administrative error, of no importance, and with both parties having evidently agreed to a lease which was fully written out, that it should be considered that there was a written lease for three months. Therefore, there is a chance you could be held liable for the full remaining balance of the lease term.
If she does try to hold you accountable for the additional time, you may be able to argue that she breached her representations to you--representations which formed the basis for your decision to enter into the lease--by not allowing three visits per month, and/or that she was violating the lease itself, by imputing a term (only 1 visit) which was not in the lease. This assumes, however, that the lease itself does not limit visits to once per month; if it does and you signed it, you can held to that term.
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.