Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Indiana

Landlord sells house.. is the contract still binding

My daughter has been renting a house along with 4 other girls. She signed a 1 year contract with the landlord. Since then, the landlord has sold the house to someone else. My daughter would like to move out for financial and other reasons but the new landlord will not let her out of the contract, or let her sublease to anyone else. She hasn't signed any contracts or other legal papers with this landlord. Is she legally bound by the original contract even though she hasn't signed anything with the new landlord?


Asked on 12/27/04, 3:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Dale Lundquist (Solo)

Re: Landlord sells house.. is the contract still binding

Unfortunately, the new owner "bought" the Lease when he purchased the property and he has all the rights of your daughter's former landlord to hold her to the Lease. Financial difficulties aren't grounds for breaking a Lease but a Landlord has a legal duty to "mitigate damages." This means he must make a reasonable effort to find another tenant so he doesn't lose rent. Even if the Lease says "No subletting" if your daughter found someone to move in in her place and her other roommates didn't object, your daughter would probably have a defense if the landlord tried to sue her. And if her replacement is paying her fair share, what incentive would he have to sue. Bottom line: the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse a substitute tenant.

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Answered on 12/31/04, 10:26 pm


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