On the lease, he indicated that he had no job and no income.  The lease calls for rent of $700/mth for one of five rooms.  He was told that he would have to have some type of guarantor such as his parents in order for the lease to be approved.  Little Bobby is of majoriy and the lease begins next August.  I told him that I would not guarantee the lease so he went back and expected that the lease would simply be denied.  He was wrong! The lessor wants additional fees from him to "start" the process of breaking the lease but those fees according to the leasing agent do not release him from the lease.  My thought was to have Little Bobby send a certified letter indication the mis-understanding (he thought that dad would sign) and let them know that he cannot pay.  I am guessing he could be sued but is that realistic?  The kid has no assets?  He is literally looking at giving blood to pay the "processing" fee.

He messed up, no question but know Little Bobby is freaking out which will not help his grades.

Any advice

We all know what you think he was told... but does the writing and wording of the actual contract spell that out? I think YOur son may have left out some important details or at least misunderstood them as told to him. The fact is he IS an adult.. and he DID sign it. There should have been no signatures by him until he had yours.

However... the very act of making an application can result in non-refundible application fees. But the actual lease part as told by you makes no sense. That's why I asked if you actually saw and read these documents or are relying totally on what he told you which obviously he could very easily have misunderstood the details of since its clear this would have been his first dealings in this area..

Being he had no referals or history would require a smart realtor to run a credit check, criminal check, etc on him , along with the time involved with paperwork means expenses for the landlord... which they can charge for as it all cost them money.

THat part is realistic and they could and likely will sue for... but unless there was a major misunderstanding relayed to you, WHY they would want to lease to him, without a job or income and no cosigner is baffling. And for that they could only hold him liable for the portion of the lease owed before they can find another renter... and they do actually have to try so realistically it would not be for anywhere near the full years value.

He has no assets now... but they can get a judgement issued and a writ of garnishment for assets he DOES gain in the future.

Little Bobby may be a smart kid... but contracts are baffling the first time one does this. I remember being totally dumbfounded when I got my first place... and luckily Me and my roomates all brought our parents with us before any of us signed anything... and we three WERE recent College Graduates at the time and far from dumb, just ignorant to contracts and a bit naïve as any reccent grad will be. Its been roughly 30 years but I still remember it pretty well, as well as where it was and the Name of the apartments. Still have a mental picture of the office as well.

He is either in a contract or not in the contract.

If they required a co/signer before he would be accepted , then there is no contract and he can just walk away.

If he is in a contact, they are also bound, and he does not have to get a co signer at this point and time