Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York
Is the landlord obligated to re-rent the apartment asap after i break the lease
i rented an apartment for last one and a half years in long island, NY. Due to job change i had to move to VA in Dec 02, and had to break the 1 yr lease & as a penalty I had to loose my security deposit and also I am liable to pay the rent either till the apartment is re-rented or till the end of my lease (May 03). It's been 2 months now and whenever i call to check if it is re-rented, the mgmt people say that nobody has enquired about the apartment. So to cross check I sent my friends and made few calls to ask them if they have some apartments availble. first thing they say is that nothing available before 15th March 03 and second when one of my friend insisted to see all possible vacant apartments, they showed 2 other apartments but never showed my apartment which is vacant from mid dec. Also, my ex-neighbours told us that they have never seen anybody coming to even see the apartment. This means that the Mgmt people are intentionally not re-renting the apartment and are charging me for it.And as far as i know, the landlord is OBLIGATED to re-rent the apartment asap. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHETHER IT IS TRUE? Becasue if itis, then i will take action fast.kindly guide me what is the best action to be taken in this case.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Is the landlord obligated to re-rent the apartment asap after i break the le
The landlord is required to mitigate his damages occasioned by your breaking of the lease, meaning they are required to relet the apartment to someone else as expeditiously as possible.
If that is not happening, you could send a certified letter to the landlord demanding that
that such steps be taken, immediately, to relet the unit, and, if they fail to do so, you will contact the appropriate court in New York to
request the right to pay the remaining amounts owed on the lease into a rent escrow account
where later you may lay claim to these funds.
Re: Is the landlord obligated to re-rent the apartment asap after i break the le
Dear Reader:
In examining this response, please note that we are not entering into an attorney/client relationship, that this is to be taken as informative, and not as legal advice, that it is always best to speak to a lawyer in your area and/or in the area where the transaction and/or events occurred, and that my answer is necessarily limited by the fact that I have not seen the documentation or had an opportunity to go over the matters with you in detail.
I disagree with Mr. Hendrickson's advice. Ordinarily, in New York, tenants are required to pay out the balance of the rent if they leave before the end of the lease. This may be a shady practice that is unethical, but it is legal. If you were in Nassau or Suffolk, there is a slim chance that this practice violates some local laws, but that is doubtful.
In addition, there may be a second legitimate reason why the landlord is keeping the unit off the market -- to paint, clean up, or so forth.
If you withold your rent, you could be sued, and that would affect your credit if you lose.
Try the Better Business Bureau or a nearby tenant's group. Maybe they have some alternate answers for you.
Good luck.
As I mentioned before, this is something that you will want to take up with a lawyer of your own selection, either in your state or area or in a place where some of the pertinent events occurred.
Rod Kovel
Attorney at Law
516-312-9900
Re: Is the landlord obligated to re-rent the apartment asap after i break the le
What did the lease say with regards to the landlord's obligation to re-rent the premises, i.e., did it give any time frame within which to do so?
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