I am not sure if this is a right forum or not but I have a query regarding lease issues. If someone has a lease until December but due to some circumstances they have to move in September, how do you talk to your landlord about it?
LAlso, what if you can’t find someone to sub lease the apartment, do you have to pay for the rest of four months or the only thing you lose is the security deposit plus the rent of the last month?
Does it affect your credit by any chance?
Re: Rental lease query?!?!
It depends how the lease is written. Do you have an "out" where if you are moving more than a certain distance away, you can invalidate your lease? Most landlords require 30 days notice, even if the lease is up in 30 days. If there is no such clause, then you are responsible for the rent remaining on the lease. It can affect your credit if you don't pay and the landlord reports you to a collection agency.
I would start by talking to your landlord about the situation, and seeing what he has to say. If you find a subleaser, typically they will also have to be approved.
Hope this helps.
Re: Rental lease query?!?!
Depends on how reasonable your landlord is. Some landlords are understanding and will let you leave beforehand providing you stay on until they find new tenants, which should not take more than about 3 weeks.
Some landlords will not be so understanding and in that case you can leave the property and you would lose your security deposit. I do not think it would affect your credit history as such, however you may require the landlords reference to rent a new property and it may affected you in that respect.
Re: Rental lease query?!?!
it also depend on your state's laws that govern rentals. Some states are very landlord focused others are more tennant focused.
worst case scenario for you is that you end up paying rent for the months you are not there.
as far as credit, if the law says u have to pay, and yoiu dont, and what u owe the andlord is above what they have from you as a security deposit, then its up to the landlord whether they put something on your credit report.
Re: Rental lease query?!?!
LAlso, what if you can't find someone to sub lease the apartment, do you have to pay for the rest of four months or the only thing you lose is the security deposit plus the rent of the last month?
It depends on your state and more importantly your lease. Apartment communities normally require a 30 or 60 day notice prior to move out. Additionally the lease may require a fee equal to one or two month’s rent in the event tenant breaches contract. The lease may even require you to pay the entire remainder of the lease term or until the apartment is rented out again. Every lease agreement clearly states how much rent you must pay if you break the lease before the end of its term. (I know leases can be boring to read).
You have two options; you can either find someone and sublet your apartment until the end of the lease or assign the lease. Assigning means you will be permanently transferring the lease to the new tenant where as under sub leasing you temporarily rent out the apartment to another person. The only problem is that you have to find people who would be willing to sign the lease.
The best advice I can give you is read your lease very carefully and then talk to your landlord. Explain your situation and how it requires relocation. In many cases landlords are understanding and would be willing to work with you. Perhaps your landlord has a few people in waiting list who are ready to move in. Anyways talk to your landlord and ask him/her about your options. I hope it works in your favor!
I am not sure if it would affect your credit. Well, if your landlord is burned he/she may give a bad reference when you are renting an apartment in future. But again, you can avoid that, talk to the person and let them know your situation in advance. You don't want to be considered a skipper.
Re: Rental lease query?!?!
Thank you so much everyone!
Well the scenario is something like this.. I am renting someone's part of the house and i have a lease until Dec. but now my mom is visiting me and will be staying with me for a while so the landlord has told me that he wants to increase the rent since my mom is residing with me. I have had two people written on the lease but apparently they say that I told them the other person will be just visiting but not staying so she can't stay here. I am already having a few commuting problems so I am thinking of moving to another city but dunno exactly how to handle this issue.. I am not sure if talking to them is going to help but I think I 'll give it a shot for once!
Also, they are Muslims as well and I really dun want to ruin the relationship like this by just quitting or challenging them that I have two people written on the lease so visiting/residing doesn't count even though my friends are telling me to do so.. Also, I can't find someone to sub lease it since they want only MUSLIM FEMALE and it's really hard to find one in this area who would like to live here for only 4 months! I am confused but I think I am going to read the terms of the lease as well as talk to them.. things might turn out better!
Once again, thanks for your input.. now if you could suggest something in this particular scenario, that would be great as well.. I want to leave this place with as good terms as I came in here!!
Re: Rental lease query?!?!
If the other person was not mean't to stay at the property then he/she should not have his/her name on the contract. Having a name on the contract suggests that they have the right to occupy the section of the property.
It should be possible for you to have visitors for short-term if the room is mean't for two people anyway.
Is there any provision in the agreement for the rent to go up in mid-term? I doubt it. So how can they ask for a rental increase.
Your mum would be a visitor or a permitted occupier as opposed to a tenant.
I don't know about where you live but here the only way they can enforce anything in the agreement would be by going to court.
Best option would be to insist on your mother staying or ask them to release you from the contract. They may decide to let your mother stay as the lessor of two evils.
Re: Rental lease query?!?!
It seems like the lease allows for two people to reside in that part of the house. Does the lease identify the 2nd person as a ‘visitor’ or ‘resident’? If it identifies the other person as a visitor, does it state the length of stay for the visitor? If it identifies the 2nd person as a resident then what you told them earlier (that other person will be visiting and not staying) doesn’t mean much. It’s as if you rented one bedroom apartment that allowed two residents per apt. Since at the time of signing the lease you did not have a roommate you let the management know you would be alone. Later on if you find a roommate the management cannot stop the 2nd person from sharing the apartment with you since the lease clearly states the number of residents allowed per apartment. However you would be required to inform the management of your roommate and perhaps enter his/her name in the lease as well. And that’s all.
Another important question to ask is, does your lease have a clause regarding rent increase during the term of the lease? If it states something like “The landlord reserves the right to increase the rent anytime…” then your landlord may use that as a reason to justify rent increase. Also most landlords are required to notify the tenants in advance of any imminent increases in rent. How far in advance they are required to do so may be stated in your lease. And if your lease does not have a clause regarding rent increase during term of lease, then I guess that works in your favor.
Also, they are Muslims as well and I really dun want to ruin the relationship like this by just quitting or challenging them that I have two people written on the lease so visiting/residing doesn't count even though my friends are telling me to do so
I understand what you are saying; you don’t want to burn them by challenging them. But it would be unfair for you to pay extra money for no reason. It’s about principles, if they are not willing to stick to principles what good is the relationship. If I were you I would talk to them and make sure they understand my point.
Lastly, you can always call your local district magistrate/city council/ city hall for advice. You can call them up and ask them what would be the right thing to do if your landlord won’t allow 2 people when your lease states on the contrary or your landlord wants to increase the rent during term of lease when there is no such clause in the lease itself. I am sure they will be able to help you. I was surprised when I visited city hall website for my city, they had a whole section for city tenants that informed them of their rights. They even had phone numbers listed where you could get in touch with a city official who could advise you depending on your situation.
Hope that helps.