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How
to Break a Lease Legally and Easily
Breaking an Apartment Lease PART 2
Legally
breaking an apartment lease can be quick and painless... if you know
what are the right steps to take. No matter what type of rental
agreement you are in, learn how to break a lease legally in this Part 2 of our Guide
to Breaking Apartment Leases.
Do You Want
to Break a Fixed Term Lease? If Yes, Click here for Part 1 of this Guide.
How
to Break a Lease for Your Periodic Tenancy (Month to Month, Year to
Year)
Case
1: Both You and Your Tenant
Mutually
Agree to End the Lease
If
there is mutual consent between landlord and tenant, breaking an
apartment lease is surprisingly easy and straight forward. Breaking
apartment leases with mutual consent is called surrender of tenancy.
This surrender of tenancy can be done without paperwork - All your
tenant has
to
do it is to remove his belongings from your rental property and you can
start
looking for new tenants.
You won't have to go thru a waiting
period before the move-out date as long as both you and your tenant are
okay with it. However, we still recommend that you use a written early lease
termination agreement to formally end your lease so that you
can avoid any
possible problems and headaches.
Case
2: Only
One Party (Landlord or Tenant) Wants to End the Lease
Breaking
an apartment lease legally for a periodic tenancy generally involves
you to giving your tenant a written
notice to quit
in advance. This is
required by law in most areas so that your tenant will have enough time
to look for a new place to stay.
According
to the landlord tenant laws in most areas, you will usually have to
hand your
tenant a notice to quit 30 days to 60 days in advance. Some types of
tenants such as government subsidized tenants or the elderly
may
have to be informed even earlier in advance.
If you have a year to year tenancy, you may have to notify your
tenants up to 6 months in advance when breaking apartment leases. In
some areas, a year to year tenancy is treated more like a fixed term
lease which means you cannot end it early unless your tenant agrees to.
How
to Break a Lease Legally for Your Verbal Lease (Tenancy at Will)
Some lease
agreements tend to be more informal in nature and there is no
written contract in place. This type of rental arrangement is
known as a tenancy at will. It is more common if the landlord is
renting his property to family or he wants a temporary short term lease.
Since there is no written agreement in place, breaking an
apartment lease for a verbal tenancy is usually decided by the terms of
your local landlord tenant laws.
In
most cases, you will have to inform the other party that you are
breaking the lease 30 days in advance. You can either choose to inform
them verbally or with a written notice
to quit for termination of tenancy. In some areas, there are
no restrictions for verbal leases and you can choose to back out of it
anytime you want.
Do you want to learn MORE practical
must-know facts on
ending your tenancy?
Return from
this Breaking an Apartment Lease page to our How to Break a Lease Legally
guide
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