Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York

Re: Ending a lease due to getting a job 100 miles away

No statute that I am aware of. The law has been that a residential landlord had a duty to mitigate (limit) damages by finding a new tenant with the departing tenant liable for the costs of vacant time, advertising, etc. In a commercial matter, no such duty exists. A commercial tenant can be held to the full term of the lease. The complication is that, in a recent Court of Appeals (NY's top Ct.) case, the Court held that a landlord (no distinction given between residential and commercial)need not mitigate. My instincts tell me this was an oversight and the residential rule still applies, but until that is tested in Albany, you can't be 100% sure.

Regarding security, while we all know it is not rent and that applying is improper, it is probably done more often than not. It is rare but not unheard of for a lamndlord to pursue it unless he has a damages claim.