Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

Early termination of a rental lease
I was given a lease for one year starting in April of 2004 and ends April of 2005. I need to terminate my lease because I lost my job due to the hurricanes in Florida. I looked at my lease and there is a typo saying that my lease ends on April of 2004, instead of 2005. My question is can I get out of my lease now without having to pay and fees?

Asked on 10/09/04, 5:31 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Peter Gonzalez Sanchez-Medina, Gonzalez, Quesada, Lage, Crespo, Gomez & MachadoLLP

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Re: Early termination of a rental lease

A typographical error is not a viable defense or justifiable excuse for a breach of the lease. Neither is losing your job. You should be honest and direct with the landlord to learn whether you can negotiate your way out of the lease. If the landlord understands that you have lost your job and are effectively judgment proof (meaning it is very unlikely that the landlord would collect a dollar if he/she elected to pursue a claim against you for breach of the lease), the landlord may be willing to mitigate damages by re-letting the apartment to another tenant and then terminate your lease, which termination should be confirmed in writing. Good luck.

Answered on 10/11/04, 11:53 am

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