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k_farr · Dec 30, 2009, 01:04 PM

I'm currently residing in Miami, Florida. I along with my boyfriend relocated so he could attend school. Because we were moving from Atlanta, GA we didn't have a lot of time to locate an apartment and had to settle for a higher priced rental. We are currently paying $1200 a month and we are looking for something cheaper. Also he no longer has transportation, which means I have to take him to and from school and drive 25 minutes in the opposite direction to get to work. The commutes are becoming difficult and we are attempting to find a place by his campus to lighten the load. We signed a year lease August 1st of this year and are wanting to break the lease and be moved out by Feb the 28. We had to pay 3600 hundred down, first , last and security deposit. My question is can we legally break our lease, if so can we use last months rent to cover Feb and are we allowed our security deposit back, assuming there are no damages?

PS: Overall our landlord and building manager are usually on top of any issues we've had with the building but. We are concerned because many of the tenanats have had their cars broken into on numerous occasions. Although there are cameras up now, I nolonger feel safe in the building.

ScottGem · Dec 30, 2009, 01:20 PM

You have absolutely no legal grounds to break your lease. What's more, you are in one of the worst states to try and break a lease. Florida does not require landlords to make a good faith effort to rerent the property. So they can just sit back and require you to pay until July.

You have four options here:

1) Talk to the landlord and see if they will let you out of the lease early. Maybe negotiate a buyout (usually two months).
2) Sublet the apartment. This may not be allowed in your lease however.
3) Find a replacement tenant. The landlord may allow you to move out early if you find a new tenant that they can approve of.
4) Stay until the end of the lease.

Since you paid last month's rent, when you give notice you do not have to pay the last months since its already been paid. But that is only when you give legal notice of your intent not to renew the lease.

As for the security, you will get that back ONLY if you do not owe anything further on the lease or there are no damages to deduct from the security.

If you were pressed to find lodgings you should have tried for a shorter lease, but you are committed to a year unless the landlord lets you out.

k_farr · Dec 30, 2009, 01:26 PM

Thanks for your help.

k_farr · Dec 30, 2009, 01:29 PM

I have an additional question. What if there is no claus in our contract that talks about breaking our lease. Is it still understood that it can't be broken?

ScottGem · Dec 30, 2009, 01:34 PM

Yes. A lease is a contract. While some leases may contain an early termnation clause, most don't. The absence of one means there is no provision for early termination.