I'm moving out of my apartment.

Lackadaisical

I'm payed up until January 1st of next year, but I need to find someone to take over 9 months of my lease or I'm forced to foot the bill under the lease agreement.

http://daviswiki.org/University_Village

This is my apartment complex, and I live in Davis, California, a college town.

Help me, PA, halp!

Quid

Why are you leaving when you still have 9 months left? Did you know this would be happening when signing the lease?

The best I could recommend would be to post some ads on craigslist and other sites.

RUNN1NGMAN

They can only make you pay until they find another tenant, if that's any consolation.

Lackadaisical

Quid wrote: »

Why are you leaving when you still have 9 months left? Did you know this would be happening when signing the lease?

The best I could recommend would be to post some ads on craigslist and other sites.

I'll put an add up on craigslist after I clean it up, I guess.

No, I didn't know I'd be moving (Bit of a surprise, really.)

zilo

You can pay to break the lease. It won't be cheap (usually 1.5-2 months of rent) but don't think that you're on the hook for 9 months of rent on an empty apartment.

Hobbit0815

I didn't know you could actually pay to break a lease. I thought the lease states that you have to pay for that amount of time, period. Maybe different leases I guess...

Do you have any friends/family members who need a new place to live?

RUNN1NGMAN

Hobbit0815 wrote: »

I didn't know you could actually pay to break a lease. I thought the lease states that you have to pay for that amount of time, period. Maybe different leases I guess...

Do you have any friends/family members who need a new place to live?

You can always negotiate your way out of any contract, and regardless of whether they agree to a fixed amount or not they can only charge you rent until they find another tenant.

zilo

I suppose it probably depends on your state but everywhere I've lived (Nebraska, Illinois, and now California) has required a clause in the lease detailing what you're liable for if you have to break it.

If not, I'd bet if you phone up your landlord right now and say "I have to move out in January, I'm willing to pay 1.5 months rent to break the lease" they'd let you out of it.

Ludious

Are you moving more than 50 miles away by chance? In a lot of states you can't be held to a lease if you're moving more than 50 miles away for work.

Quid

Also, why are you moving as there are occasionally laws that require you to be allowed to break your lease depending on the reason.

Pheezer

All of the places I've lived (note: never there) have allowed me to sublet the apartment to anyone who passes their application process. A few of them wanted a sublet fee until I'd told them that it wouldn't be necessary, as I'd already found an applicant. They may want 30 days notice, but again, if you have a viable tenant for them who's got his damage deposit and first month's rent on hand, you should be fine.

Lackadaisical

Ludious wrote: »

Are you moving more than 50 miles away by chance? In a lot of states you can't be held to a lease if you're moving more than 50 miles away for work.

I live in California and am moving 107 miles away, how do I find out if such a law exists?

Lackadaisical

Quid wrote: »

Also, why are you moving as there are occasionally laws that require you to be allowed to break your lease depending on the reason.

Guess I should have done this as the same post as the one above, oh well...

Extreme depression/Withdrawal from school/Suicide attempts--sort of personal shit, but yay internet anonymity.

Hobbit0815

One question, are you going to continue schooling in California?

Lackadaisical

The plan is to eventually continue schooling, but for the moment no...just move home and try to get better. I do want to continue with my education, just not at Davis.

Darkewolfe

I'm gonna throw out that other places, like D.C., don't legally recognize sub-letting.

There are a lot of tenant's rights advocacy groups everywhere. If you can't afford legal advice/can't find an answer another way, you can contact one. They basically do charity work, so it's not something you should do if you can find a solution yourself.

Ludious

According to what my google-fu turned up, moving a distance away isn't a legal lease breaker. In my home state it is.

Here are some legal reasons to break a lease in California though, or some examples.

Are any of these true? Use one.

The Many Legal Reasons to End a Lease

You can legally end the lease for several reasons, one of which may apply in your case. Review the ones that apply to you:
1. Uninhabitable conditions, which only need to affect habitability, not necessarily unlivable, and which may include:
a. Infestations of cockroaches, rats, or other vermin
b. Noxious odors, such as from sewage leaks, mold and mildew, dead rats in the walls, pigeons nesting in the attic
c. Noisy neighbors in your building, or
d. Criminal activity in the building or neighborhood, such as drugs and gangs
2. An illegal unit, such as an illegally converted garage, basement, or attached structure you're living in [a common situation]
3. Government closing down the building, due to:
a. severe illegalities, such as construction without proper building permits, a dangerous structure, and zoning violations
b. fire or other structural damage [red or yellow tagging]
c. earthquake, flooding, or other natural disaster damage [red or yellow tagging], or
d. demolition by the government, such as for Redevelopment goals, eminent domain, tax lien sale, drug-related confiscation
4. Death, severe hospitalization, incarceration, or insanity of the tenant [your legal representative would handle this]
5. Bankruptcy of the tenant [Chapter 7, or abandoning the lease in a Chapter 11 or 13 Bankruptcy proceeding ]
6. The person who rented it to you may not have had the right to do so, because:
a. The person was not the owner, or authorized by the owner, to lease it [a scam used by some con-men]
b. The person was an unlicensed property manager, whose contracts are void [there are many of these]
c. The person was a tenant, who was not authorized to sub-lease or assign the place to you by their rental agreement, or
d. The business entity that is supposed to be your landlord doesn't legally exist [such as a corporation, that isn't one]
7. The lease may be tied to a job on the premises, which you quit, such as a resident manager, grounds keeper, etc.
8. The landlord lost the land by foreclosure, and the bank or new owner took over, but you haven't paid rent to them, yet.
9. The lease is oral, but is for more than a year by its terms, making it void under the Statute of Frauds as a legal matter.

NotYou

I broke my lease early. If you have good reasons, the landlord will probably be forgving. Just have a talk with him. You'll probably pay a bit, but they won't make you pay the whole 9 months I'd expect.

Lackadaisical

Ludious wrote: »

According to what my google-fu turned up, moving a distance away isn't a legal lease breaker. In my home state it is.

Here are some legal reasons to break a lease in California though, or some examples.

Are any of these true? Use one.

The Many Legal Reasons to End a Lease

You can legally end the lease for several reasons, one of which may apply in your case. Review the ones that apply to you:
1. Uninhabitable conditions, which only need to affect habitability, not necessarily unlivable, and which may include:
a. Infestations of cockroaches, rats, or other vermin
b. Noxious odors, such as from sewage leaks, mold and mildew, dead rats in the walls, pigeons nesting in the attic
c. Noisy neighbors in your building, or
d. Criminal activity in the building or neighborhood, such as drugs and gangs
2. An illegal unit, such as an illegally converted garage, basement, or attached structure you're living in [a common situation]
3. Government closing down the building, due to:
a. severe illegalities, such as construction without proper building permits, a dangerous structure, and zoning violations
b. fire or other structural damage [red or yellow tagging]
c. earthquake, flooding, or other natural disaster damage [red or yellow tagging], or
d. demolition by the government, such as for Redevelopment goals, eminent domain, tax lien sale, drug-related confiscation
4. Death, severe hospitalization, incarceration, or insanity of the tenant [your legal representative would handle this]
5. Bankruptcy of the tenant [Chapter 7, or abandoning the lease in a Chapter 11 or 13 Bankruptcy proceeding ]
6. The person who rented it to you may not have had the right to do so, because:
a. The person was not the owner, or authorized by the owner, to lease it [a scam used by some con-men]
b. The person was an unlicensed property manager, whose contracts are void [there are many of these]
c. The person was a tenant, who was not authorized to sub-lease or assign the place to you by their rental agreement, or
d. The business entity that is supposed to be your landlord doesn't legally exist [such as a corporation, that isn't one]
7. The lease may be tied to a job on the premises, which you quit, such as a resident manager, grounds keeper, etc.
8. The landlord lost the land by foreclosure, and the bank or new owner took over, but you haven't paid rent to them, yet.
9. The lease is oral, but is for more than a year by its terms, making it void under the Statute of Frauds as a legal matter.

Not really. Maybe the insanity thing--I do have diagnosed depression. But I would need a lawyer.

javlinares

NotYou wrote: »

I broke my lease early. If you have good reasons, the landlord will probably be forgving. Just have a talk with him. You'll probably pay a bit, but they won't make you pay the whole 9 months I'd expect.

I have a legal reason to break the lease. Could anyone tell me what I have to do to break it? I need to move out as soon as possible?