Rental Questions Answered!
Dear Apartments.com,
I just moved into the best apartment in the entire world. It’s everything I ever hoped for and ever wanted in a new home. Recently, my company decided to relocate me to another city. Although I really don’t want to leave, it’s the best thing that could happen for my career. How do I tell the building management that I’m going to move and what will happen to me if I break the lease?
Sadly Successful in Schenectady, NYDear Sadly Successful,
Breaking a lease can be cumbersome because the burden is on you, not your landlord. Check your lease to see if subletting is allowed. This means you would have someone else living in the apartment but that you would still be responsible for it. This is not an ideal situation but it can work out if you get a responsible sub-letter. Another option is to assign the lease to a new tenant. Assigning your lease means permanently transferring all the rights of the lease to a new tenant for the remaining duration of the lease. You will usually have joint responsibility for damages to the apartment in this situation, so choose a tenant wisely. Your landlord will have to approve the tenant as well since a new lease will need to be signed. The last option is to actually break the lease. DO NOT leave the apartment in the middle of the night as you will almost surely have a lawsuit on your hands. Instead explain the situation to your landlord and offer to help find a new tenant. Doing this means you will likely lose your security deposit and have to keep paying rent until a new tenant is found but at least you won’t end up in court. Expect your landlord to be upset and possibly give you a bad reference; this will vary with each landlord and how you present your situation.
Dear Apartments.com,
My roommate is a total jerk. I was out of town for work last week and while I was away, he had a party and ended up getting into a fight with one of his friends. In the scuffle he punched a hole in our wall. Besides the fact that I feel like a parent rather than a roommate, I know I’m going to need to tell the building management what happened. How do I do this and what can I do to avoid losing my security deposit?
Frustrated Fistful, Frankfort, IL
Dear Frustrated Fistful,
I understand your anger but why are you taking responsibility for your roommate? Protect yourself by taking a dated photo of the damage and trying to secure proof that you were not there when the damage occurred (you could have your job confirm that you were out of town). Then firmly tell your roommate that HE needs to report the damage to the landlord. If he refuses, call your landlord and expect to lose at least half your security deposit. If there is any money left, inform your roommate that his part of the security deposit has been lost and keep the rest. If your money has been depleted, consider this a lesson learned and be more discriminating when choosing a roommate in the future.
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