Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania

Re: apartment lease

You asked about getting out of a residential lease early.

There are actually a number of options which may or may not be available to you. If you are in the military there is a maximum that may be charged no matter who the landlord is. If you are being transferred by your current employer then you may be able to assert another escape provision in the law.

Generally, if you aren't subject to one of the exceptions, anything over 2 months is considered excessive and you would need to prove that it is excessive in court. Also, the landlord must make and demonstrate reasonable efforts to re-rent the premises. If the landlord can't demonstrate reasonable efforts then it may not be able to collect any of that amount. If you pay four months rent and the landlord re-rents in one month then you would be eligible for a three month rebate. What are the chances you would see that without a fight?

I'm not a big fan of landlords. There are some good ones but generally they believe tenants should be thankful that they are deigned suitable as tenants and then take any crap that the landlord dishes out. Of course many landlords are made that way by one or two bad tenant(s).

I have yet to see a residential lease that doesn't have a serious flaw that an attorney can advantage. this is especially so when a private party is the lessor.

So, take a good look at the lease and the laws in your specific jurisdiction. Then try to negotiate with the landlord to get the payment to lowest amount possible. If you give enough notice then you may even be able to find a replacement tenant.

Regards,

Roger

Re: apartment lease

There is a question of whether the four months would constitute a penalty or would be considered liquidated damages. If it is difficult to find tenants in the area where the townhouse is, then an arbitration panel may find the four months to be reasonable as liquidated damages. On the other hand, if the landlord has a waiting list and can rent the property right away, I think an arbitration panel would be more likely to find the 4 months to be a penalty.