Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in North Carolina
My lease has the following clause:
5. If you were to break the lease before August 18th you will lose your 1,300 deposit. However, you may buy out your contract by paying 2 times the rent, which is $2,600. Other option is to sub-lease and the current resident can find another resident to finish the contract out for them. However, new resident has to be approved by the owner
End of section 5
Can I just lose the deposit, because she used the word 'however' instead of 'In addition'
1 Answer from Attorneys
Choosing to pay the 2,600 means your liability under the lease is over.
If you don't pay the 2,600 and forefeit the deposit, you will remain liable under the lease, until the home is re-rented or the lease ends, whatever comes first. So if, you left now, there are still 8 months left on the lease, meaning you could potentially be liable for $10,400.00 minus your deposit if they can't find a tenant to replace you.