By Robert Griswold
Question: I am not sure, but there is a strong possibility that I may be in a position to buy a house in nine to 12 months. I am worried that my lease is coming up for renewal in a few months and my landlord requires a 12-month lease. There is no clause that would allow me to break the lease due to my home purchase. Can you tell me how can I legally break my lease, considering I'm going to be a homeowner?
Tenant's attorney Kellman replies:
Buying a home is a significant financial commitment. Also, this may be where you will live for many years and you may wind up keeping the property as a lifetime investment. Therefore, do not let the matter of a rental lease disturb your home-buying plans. Leases can be broken for many reasons where the landlord is at some fault with no cost or penalty to the tenant. However, if you want to break a lease based on your personal plans or needs, like buying a home, you may be held liable unless you take proper steps to protect yourself.
First, you should seek a short-term or a month-to-month rental agreement since you plan to move shortly after your present lease would expire. If you are forced to sign that new lease and then need to vacate early, you should give the landlord as much notice as possible. Lost rent or other costs can be avoided if you act promptly and properly. Many so-called lease break penalties included in some leases are not valid even though you signed the lease. Other leases have lease-break options that are just extra profit for the landlord. Therefore, do not sign any early-vacate or lease-break documents provided by the landlord without first having them reviewed by a professional, since you can easily sign away valuable rights. Remember, documents prepared by the landlord are for his or her best interests, not yours. When it comes to breaking leases, you should first seek legal counsel before taking any action.
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