6 Reasons You Might Break Your Lease Without A Paying A Penalty

In our daily lives, most of us aren't signing a bunch of binding legal documents. Which is why signing lease can be so nerve-wracking. Often, it's the first – and biggest – two-party legal contract we enter into. After dotting the last i, it really feels as if we're locked in and indentured.

But what happens when you need to break your lease? If you're moving, your family is expanding, your financial circumstances have changed or you're just not happy, the anxiety of being trapped in your lease can seem crushing. What do you do? Do you pay a giant penalty and live with it?

Thankfully, you do have options. There are ways to exit your lease without shelling out punishment money. So, what are the reasons you can break your lease without penalty? Most standard leases have a list of select reasons that will allow you to exit your lease without penalty. We'll go into more detail below.

Vacating for a medical need

If you find yourself unable to stay in your apartment because of a medical-related issue, you might be able to opt out of your lease. You may qualify for lease relief if you're unable to work due to illness or injury or you can no longer live independently.

With a proof-of-need letter (from your doctor, the court or the like), you can most likely exit your agreement without a penalty with a "release clause" in 30 or 60 days, depending on the language of your lease.

A change in job circumstance

Additionally, many lease boilerplates also accommodate a change in your finances. If you lose your job, lose a significant number of hours or have a significant reduction of income and have to vacate your apartment, your lease may allow for a financial hardship exception. Often, however, these protections only kick in if the change in circumstance is beyond your control, like if you didn't do anything wrong and weren't fired for cause.

As above, with a letter from your HR manager or a pay stub indicating the change, your lease should allow a grace period for which to leave your apartment.

New financial situations

Your lease may even allow for a reprieve from other negative financial positions. If you have a significant change in net income for something other than job compensation, some leases allow for this in a "hardship clause".

These reasons include suddenly finding yourself in debt or with a change in income due to a court ruling or new alimony or child support payments. If you find yourself with a new financial normal, discuss with your landlord if this qualifies you to leave your lease contract.

Change in family status

Most leases are written with a certain number of apartment residents in mind. While it may not spell it out in bold letters, your lease terms and conditions most likely assume the number of residents at move in is the same as the number of residents that move out.

If you go from a single person to a married person or from a happy couple to parents of a newborn, that apartment of yours may no longer suit your needs. Similarly, if your teenage child ships off to college or even if you're hit by divorce, your lease may allow you to exit the agreement based on a change of family size.

Moving away

Sometimes job transfers, new careers and family situations may cause you to move with short notice. Most lease agreements allow for termination of the lease if you move a certain number of miles away, often regardless of reason.

If you work in a transient career such as media, flight attendant or military contractor, and you can't sign a short-term lease, you might consider adding such geographic hardship language to your lease when moving in if it doesn't spell it out already.

Your landlord isn't holding up his end

Your lease is equal parts your agreement and your landlord's agreement. Just as your landlord can kick you out for not holding up your end, you have the right to leave if your landlord isn't holding up his.

If your landlord is ignoring written maintenance requests, not keeping to the stated quiet hours, the apartment has fallen into disrepair or your landlord isn't following the lease, you may have cause to break your lease. Check your local laws and, if necessary, check with an attorney if you have ground for termination.

Don't be afraid to ask

If any of the above circumstances happens to you, or even if you just really aren't happy and wish to move on, the best first step is just to talk with your landlord. Spell out your reasons for wanting to leave the lease early.

If there's demand for units in your building or complex and the landlord can fill your space quickly, they may have no issue with you leaving before the end of your lease. And if that's not possible, you might be able to come to an agreement to buy yourself out of the lease at a lesser rate.

Your landlord is human, and he or she will understand more often than you might think.

 

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