My husband and I signed a 1 year lease in Feb. 2007. When we signed the lease we told the property manager we were going through a 'home buyers assistance' program and we wanted to know what would happen if we needed out of our lease early. She said we would lose our pet deposit and security deposit, so we signed. It is now June 2007 and we are suppose to close on our first house in 1 week and we can't get approved for our loan till the lease at the apartment is cleared but they want us to pay $3600 and keep the 2 deposits. How do we work this out? The landlord is completely uncooperative and doesn't allow subletting. Any ideas?

Unless it is written and signed somewhere that your landlord would let you out of your lease for your pet deposit and security deposit (which isn't even legal in some states), you have no way of enforcing what he said. You should have had this added to your lease when you signed it. Your landlord is giving you a way out (albeit a lousy one compared to what he said earlier), and that's really the only way you can get out. Perhaps you can offer to find a new tenant for your landlord (your expense) who will move in the same month you move out so he's doesn't suffer any losses. But, he's under no obligation to agree to such an offer. Unless it's in your lease, he's under no obligation to let you out of your lease at all - for any price.

My husband and I signed a 1 year lease in Feb. 2007. The landlord is completely uncooperative and doesn't allow subletting. Any ideas??

Excuse me? YOU signed a ONE YEAR lease. Now you are trying to break your signed contract. The landlord is offering you an out (assuming the $3600 is not 8 months rent) and you claim he is uncooperative? You were naïve in accepting the property manager's word without getting it in writing. Now you are paying the penalty for it.

You need to check your lease and see if subletting is prohibited. If it is, your best chance is to offer to pay the expense of finding a successor tenant that the landlord will accept so that the landlord doesn't lose any rental.