Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia
Can a lease be broken due to relocation out of state?
Hello. I am a tenent who has been renting a house for almost two years. I have never been late on a payment and have had no complaints.
My current lease ends August 1, 2005. My company is relocating me to Flordia in May. This relocation is mandatory, otherwise I will be terminated. I spoke to the landlord about moving out the end of June instead of July. He says I have to pay until the end of July regardless of the circumstances of the move. Can a job transfer break a lease?
He also stated he would start showing the house on weekends starting next week. He is going to sit in the house for six hours on Sat and Sun and have open house to potential tenents. Can he do this? It does not state in our lease that we agree to showings each weekend for hours.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Can a lease be broken due to relocation out of state?
Absent a specific provision in your lease which allows for early termination for the circumstance which you've described, unless you're in the military with a transfer of duty station(at least 25mi or so as I recall), I would say you're stuck.
Re: Can a lease be broken due to relocation out of state?
Read your lease for a provision that lets you out of the lease due to relocation. A good lease would contain such a provision. Othewise your landlord may be correct. He and take reasonable steps to show the place but what you describe sounds excessive. The lease might address this point as well.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
