I recently signed a 15 month lease but an opportunity had risen to buy a brand new home just 3 months into lease. Believe me it is something I could not pass up. In the lease agreement there is not a clause that I can see for early termination. But there is also no information about what happens if you wanted to break your lease one month in advanced or 12 months? I asked leasing office and they said they will not let me out of the contract and I will be responsible for the remaining balance on lease. Can they legally do this?:confused:

Yes But don't quote me on this I think if someone moves in to your apartment they can't take your money and money from another person. I went threw this and when looked into there was nothing they can do so it was droped.

Yep its legal. Your lease is running whether you live there or not. Some states require the managemnet to make a true effort to rerent and you are on the hook for all months when its vacant plus advertising costs. Read the lease carefully to see if you can sublease to cut your loses.

No, Illinois law states that the landlord or property owner must make sufficient effort in rerenting your apartment. Your obligations would be to pay rent until the premises is re-leased. If you believe the owner is not make an adequate attempt to rerent the apartment, you have legal grounds (if taken to court) to no longer make rent payments. You could help offset this chance by making an effort on your own to find a new tenant. I'm not suggesting subletting it--subletting still makes you liable for the property's condition. However, you could post an ad on craigslist, advertising the apartment as "for rent." In order to break your lease, you need to provide a written notification and state the date of your intended evacuation. If they continue to hassle you, contact a local public aide or get in touch with the Illinois Tenants Union (www.tenant.org). Ultimately, the law asks that lessee and lessor meet, to some extent, halfway... the lessor needs to make an effort to find new tenants while you, as the lessee, are responsible for rent until a new tenant is found.