What are the repercussions of breaking an apartment rental lease prior to moving in?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What are the repercussions of breaking an apartment rental lease prior to moving in?
While at college, my 18 year old son signed an off-campus apartment rental lease that he thought was a reservation to a waiting list, as the complex was under construction at the time. He has since transferred schools and no longer needs the apartment. When he contacted the apartment leasing office to cancel his spot they informed him that he had signed a lease and that it would not be possible to break it. I also contacted the leasing office and was told basically the same thing with the addition that if we could find another rent they would switch the lease over. The lease was signed 12/20; I co-signed 01/29; and the apartment complex is still under construction as of June.
Asked on June 4, 2018 under Real Estate Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Once you sign the lease, you are obligated on it: moving in (or not) is irrelevant. Your son and also you (since you co-signed) are obligated to pay rent for the entire duration of the lease, until the earlier of: 1) the lease expires, or 2) the landlord re-rents the space. The landlord does have an obligation to make reasonable efforts to re-rent it and "mitigate" its "damages" (losses), and if the don't even try, a court (if they sue you and/or your son for the money), could limit their recovery to that for the typical period fo time it takes to re-rent (e.g. 2 or 3 months of rent from you). On the other hand, if they make reasonable efforts (e.g. list it for rent the way they always list and market their units) and no one re-rents it, you'd have to pay the rent for the full duration of the lease. The lease is a contract: once you sign it, you are held to it.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Once you sign the lease, you are obligated on it: moving in (or not) is irrelevant. Your son and also you (since you co-signed) are obligated to pay rent for the entire duration of the lease, until the earlier of: 1) the lease expires, or 2) the landlord re-rents the space. The landlord does have an obligation to make reasonable efforts to re-rent it and "mitigate" its "damages" (losses), and if the don't even try, a court (if they sue you and/or your son for the money), could limit their recovery to that for the typical period fo time it takes to re-rent (e.g. 2 or 3 months of rent from you). On the other hand, if they make reasonable efforts (e.g. list it for rent the way they always list and market their units) and no one re-rents it, you'd have to pay the rent for the full duration of the lease. The lease is a contract: once you sign it, you are held to it.
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.