Title: Breaking Your Lease When You Can No Longer Afford the Rent
Headings: Breaking Your Lease When You Can No Longer Afford the Rent
Breaking Your Lease When You Can No Longer Afford the Rent
If you do not have provisions in your lease agreement for early termination, you will be liable for the remaining amount of rent due on the lease if you break it early. Before breaking your lease when you can no longer afford the rent, review your lease agreement, speak with your landlord, and consult with a landlord-tenant lawyer in order to protect your rights.

Content: Two months later, a new tenant rents your apartment. Instead of being liable for the rent for the remaining six months of your lease, you would only be liable for the two months the apartment was actually vacant. However, if the new tenant is paying less rent than you paid, you would be liable for the difference in rent for the remaining six months of your term. Because your landlord has a duty to mitigate damages, they cannot simply charge less to the new tenant knowing that you have an obligation to pay the difference in rent for the balance of the term. They must establish a legitimate reason, such as market conditions during the recession, which resulted in the new tenant paying less than you did for the same apartment. If your landlord fails to mitigate, their damages (monetary compensation to be recovered) will be reduced accordingly. Even though terminating your lease seems like the easiest was to get financial relief during financial hardship, how and when you break your lease can lead to more expenses and headaches. Contact a qualified landlord-tenant attorney before you jump out of the lease and into a worse situation.