Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Re: Termination of rental contract

A wee bit more commentary for you:

Here's an irony. If he has already your last month's rent and a security

deposit and you just up and split (and tell him so he knows and can then

rent out the place all the sooner), he probably shouldn't just KEEP the

security deposit because not returning that (or justifying with apartment

damage beyond reasonable normal wear and tear) within 30 days entitles you

to triple that amount (plus attorneys fees if there are any) but it's a

weak case where you've broken the lease. In any case, the lmr (last

month's rent) is appropriate for the landlord to keep.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WITH THIS. I've obviously invested a fair amount of time and effort responding to your posting.

Where do you live?

Good luck with it.

Re: Termination of rental contract

One more thought:

Even though the lease says you cannot sublet, if you 'present' a suitable candidate to the landlord while you tell him you want out, he will have no grounds for charging any rent for any months the place is left open (not even the last month's rent or some other finder's fee).

In a sense, it puts the burden of proof on him to

show that your candidate for subletting or even taking that person on as a new tenant.

Re: Termination of rental contract

FIRST OF A TWO PART MESSAGE

Theoretically, you can't walk away and are responsible for the next 6 months of rent, whether you live there or not. If your landlord

knows where you live and were vicious enough, he

could sue and get an attachment on your new home.

Ouch!!!

However, (your instinct was correct!) -- there is another 'law' (a common law rule which is not as high a priority as a statute) called "mitigation of damages" which says, that before bringing a suit, a plaintiff must generally make appropriate efforst (within limits) do what s/he can to reduce the damages (the harm, the money he would be out). This is a general rule for all civil cases, and the application to lease damages means that he must make a good faith effort to fill the apartment, ... right? (Technically, if the rent he got from you was above-market currently, he might find that he has to rent to someone else for a lower rent and you would be, still, responsible for the difference until the end of the lease term. But that's a bit more theory because a judge without having rent market experts paraded in front of him will most likely believe, and want to believe that the amount you agreed to is the current going rental price.)

As it turns out, as a rule of thumb, judges generally won't believe a landlord who claims he can't find a renter for 6 months ("this time of year, judge? Impossible!") and might award typically up to 2 months of rent only.

Now, if the new landlord doesn't have some way of figuring out that you've bought a house (is it too late for that?) to attach, and if he doesn't actually find out where you've moved to (because you forward your mail at the Post Office and you tell him that to reach you he should send mail to you at his property address! -- tell him in writing, if there's a security deposit to be returned and get proof of mailing of that notice) then the landlord usually isn't going to want to go through the expense of a court process to get a judgment which requires another court process to collect from someone he might not be able to track down and might not be able to collect from (blood from a stone?) eventually ... maybe good sense will prevail and he'll let it drop.

Anyway, all the above, more or less, is what I explain to landlords in a rather authoritative manner) and I manage to convince 'em.

CONTINUED ...

Re: Termination of rental contract

SECOND ! OF A TWO PART MESSAGE

By giving no notice, you cause him to go one extra month without being prepared to show and to rent the place out. Best thing to do if you are at all on decent terms with the landlord is to tell him that you have made a certain major life decision (or however you wish to phrase it) that requires you to move mid-lease, give him full notice, and work something out. MANY landlords will agree (and possibly in writing) to let you off the lease for just one (the last month he holds, if any) month of rent, and many others will let a tenant go without even that IF they can find someone to move in right after you leave so that no months are missed. (Unless he pays a realtor's fee, he wouldn't be out any rent -- he's possibly not entitled to a month of double coverage just for his bother, but practically speaking, it is still the fair thing to do anyway.)

I'd be happy to call your landlord for you -- the fear on the part of a landlord with having an attorney involved worked for one of my clients and as soon as I introduced myself, he said he'd be happy to get paid for just one month if he was unable to fill the apartment that one month. I had an agreement to that effect drafted, the landlord signed it, and everyone parted friends.

Send me details if you're interested ([email protected]) or call me in Newton.

Or try to do it on your own first but by all means remain calm and cool and friendly, even if

he tells you he wants all 6 months rent; that's when you thank him politely and call me to call him.

Don't wait until the last minute ... the sooner you can tell him, the better for keeping

the relationship.