Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Massachusetts
Breaking a lease
My Fiance and I are currently renting in MA. We just re-signed our lease in Oct 07, for one year. He has recently been laid off for the season, and we find ourselves no longer able to make rent. I have reviewed the lease, and it does not state what the repercusions are of breaking the lease. We have also spoken with the landlord numerous times about the 2 other building tenants and the noise level, and have called the police 2x for the noise, and the upstairs tenant physically threatening my fiance. What can our landlord do, legally, if nothing is stated in the lease, if we break the lease early?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Breaking a lease
Once you signed the contract with your landlord, you agreed to pay the full amount of the lease. To 'break' the lease, you must essentially breach the contract.
The landlord is entitled to collect the remainder of the lease payments from you, subject to one important rule. The landlord has a duty to 'mitigate' or lessen his damages. This means s/he must attempt to rent the apartment as quickly as is reasonably possible under the circumstances.
The simple answer would be to notify the landlord of your plans and find your own suitable replacement. If he is unreasonable in refusing your replacement tenants, the court will not allow him to seek rent from you.
You may want to speak with an attorney, as it might save you money (security deposit, last month's rent, etc.) and headaches.
Best of luck.
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