Getting out of a lease

User Forum Topic
Submitted by seattle-relo on December 20, 2007 - 10:21am

Hey Guys,I need some information about tenants rights and how to get out of a lease early. There is a family at my kids school who is really struggling to make ends meet. They moved to San Diego from South Dakota thinking that they'd have great opportunies here. They are having a super hard time finacially and just want to go back to South Dakota but are committed to a 12 month lease. Is there any way for them to break the lease without the landlord collecting from them,taking legal action, or ruining their credit? What tenant laws are in place for them?

Thanks

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Plenty of good information
Submitted by pabloesqobar on December 20, 2007 - 10:31am.

Plenty of good information about landlord/tenant rights at this link:

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landl...

pabloesqobar

Have they talked to their
Submitted by HLS on December 20, 2007 - 10:40am.

Have they talked to their landlord and explained the situation ?
I think that any landlord with common sense would rather have a clean vacant property to re-rent, rather than tenants that cannot afford to pay who are staying rent free.

They aren't leaving the state because of a mouse in their garage, are they ??

Certainly, if they are above
Submitted by lendingbubbleco... on December 20, 2007 - 10:43am.

Certainly, if they are above board with the landlord and open to paying for the costs of advertising for new tenants, they should have a better chance of getting out of the lease without a creating a residual mess for themselves.

This is all assuming they are current with rents and continue to pay rents through their departure date, rather than saying "hey, let's use the security deposit as last month's rent"....that would go over like a lead balloon.

I've had tenants break
Submitted by FormerSanDiegan on December 20, 2007 - 10:47am.

I've had tenants break leases a few times. Simply ask the landlord. If the rental market is strong there is a good chance they will not be on the hook for breaking it.

Legally ... the tenant is liable for rent after they vacate through the end of the lease as long as the unit remains empty and as long as the landlord is offering the property at the same rent. Often times a landlord will decide to let the tenant off the hook, so that they can advertise for higher rents. Depends how long tenant has been in the unit and the current market.

Also, the landlord knows that it is hard to get water from a turnup. If you are vacating for financial reasons, they more than likely will choose to let you out of the lease than end up evicting you later after you miss some monthly payments.

They should tell the landlord they are having trouble making ends meet and want out. Try paying late one month to prove it (assuming the late fees are not too high).

P.S. - Try to time the move out in late winter early spring rather than right now. It is a slow time to fill rentals over the next couple months.

Personally, I would think
Submitted by seattle-relo on December 20, 2007 - 11:27am.

Personally, I would think their landlord would want them out because they were already late on their first month's rent. I told them that they should just explain their situation to the landlord, but I think they are embarassed and are not sure how he'd react.

They have so little money, I don't know what they were thinking. I think after all their bills they have like 400 a month to feed 6 kids (yes,6 kids!).

An no they aren't leaving because of a mouse :)

By the way, thanks for the
Submitted by seattle-relo on December 20, 2007 - 11:28am.

By the way, thanks for the link and info, I'll pass it on.