Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania
rental lease
In October I signed a rental agreement for 12 mos. I am seeking to move out in April and asked the rental management about the steps I need to take to move out. They advised I would have to give 60 days notice and pay 4 months rent penalty.
When I asked about switching to a 2-bedroom apt. thet still wanted me to sign a new contract for 12 months.
The property was sold shortly after I moved in shouldn't this give me some ground to at least dispute some of the penalty?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: rental lease
You asked about breaking a rental contract.
It very much depends on the laws in your locality. While the contract has one set of terms those terms may or may not be enforceable. As a rule a landlord cannot collect two rents on a property but has only a normal duty to mitigate damages by re-renting a vacant apartment.
In some localities the landlord would be limited to collecting two months rent from an abandoned lease (which may even be diminished if the landlord re-rents the apartment). In other jurisdictions the landlord can demand the entire lease be paid out UNLESS the landlord re-rents the apartment.
An attorney can spend a little time reviewing your contract and the local law and possibly come up with an appropriate solution for you.
Regards,
Roger
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