I was in a situation (in Pennsylvania)… I’d rented the place with a 1 year lease because the rental agent assured me I could break the lease early if I had a house under contract. (I had been pushing for a month to month agreement.) She pointed out they were near a military base and the two reasons they’d let people break leases were job transfers and home purchases.
I turned in my notice with a copy of my sales contract. The rental office had me send it certified to the mother ship office.
They sent me a letter back congratulating me on my purchase and requesting 5.5 months rent (the balance of my 1 year lease). The manager I spoke with acknowleged I’d left the place clean and undamaged. They acknowleged I’d probably been told by the rental agent (Peggy Seely, agent at Blair Mill Apartments – I’ll never forget her name) that I could break the lease under these terms without penalty. But the written contract was what mattered. I consulted an attorney, he said it might go either way in court – since I had written notes (in my writing) about the various places I’d looked at when I’d moved to the area – including a note about the terms of breaking the lease. Supporting my claim that I never would have rented it for the full 1 year term without the knowlege I could break it if I bought a house.
I ended up settling – giving up my deposit and 1 months extra rent.
I’m with data agent, You should be glad that is all the landlord wants.
One factor to pay attention to if your landlord goes after you for the balance of the term… If your landlord can rent the apartment back out – you are NOT responsible for the term of the lease once it’s re-rented. It’s worth driving by periodically to see if it’s occupied.
