By Robert Griswold
Question: I had a month left on my lease when I decided to move into another apartment. I told the landlord I was leaving and asked her to try to let out my old apartment. She put one ad on an online Web site advertising the place at more than what I paid, which was market rate. There were no for-rent signs on the building or anything else, just one ad. The place did not rent. Three days before the month was up, the landlord put up another ad advertising the apartment at the same rent I paid. The place rented in just two days. Am I responsible for that last month's rent?Tenants' attorney Kellman replies:
When you moved out leaving one month left unpaid, you, in effect, abandoned the premises in violation of the lease. Your decision to move appears to be based on personal reasons and not due to any misconduct of the landlord or defects in the premises rendering it uninhabitable. Therefore, the landlord may hold you responsible for that last month's rent unless she re-rents the apartment out during that month. The law requires her to make a reasonable effort to attract a replacement tenant. Failing to properly advertise the unit or taking action that causes a difficulty in re-renting the unit (i.e. by charging a higher rent) may prevent her from claiming any rent from you at all.
Some landlords use lease-break situations to test the market by looking for a higher-paying tenant while holding you responsible for the time they spend doing this. The law does not favor such conduct because your lease did not promise anything but the contract rent. Here the landlord took action against the lease by trying for that higher rent. Therefore, she will probably have a tough time holding you responsible for any lost rent in that last month since when she advertised the apartment at the contract rate, it rented out right away.
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