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misssoky04 · Sep 5, 2007, 08:15 AM

I just finished a 13 month lease at an apartment in Louisville. When it was almost up (in August) I received a letter stating that if I wanted to extend the lease from September 1, 2007-August 31,2008 to sign the letter. The bottom said 'This lease extension is not effective until signed by the landlor.) (Yes they left the 'd' of landlord.) At the time I couldn't find anything, so I signed and turned in the letter, but never received a copy of the landlord signed letter.

Now I want to move out. Two days after I signed the letter I found a house that I want to rent. I was waiting on a room mate to see if she could move into the house before saying anything to my leasing office. I spoke to them yesterday (September 4th) and they said there is no way out of my lease unless I am sick or my job is transferring me.

Is this correct? So does this mean if I get another job far away or in another state, but it isn't a job transfer, that I can't get out of my lease? I always thought there had to be a way out of a lease. There's nothing written in the lease about how to get out of it, what the penalties may be or anything. This is, again, in Kentucky. Is there anything I can do or am I stuck here until August of 2008?

And by the way, this is a great apartment that I'm sure they could rent easily. It is on the 16th floor of a downtown Louisville high rise looking at downtown Louisville and the River. It's got a great view. I love the apartment, but $745 a month is just too much to continue paying. If I move to the house with a room mate I will cut that more than in half.

rockinmommy · Sep 5, 2007, 08:24 AM

Well, you could try to get them on a technicality, if they haven't signed the extension letter. But, since they'd be the ones to give you a copy of it they'd surely just sign it before they gave it to you.

Check your state's landlord/tenant laws. In the first post in this forum there's a link. Typically, no, there's no way out of a lease other than negotiating a buyout of some type with the landlord. Military obligations are about the only job related exception I know of.

What does your lease say about sub-leasing? You could attempt to find a replacement tenant and go that route. If sub leasing isn't allowed it'd be a tougher sell to the landlord, but if you definitely had a replacement for yourself there'd be less for them to lose by letting you out of your lease.

Overall, unless there's something I'm missing, it sounds like you're committed for another year. You might figure out all of your costs, what you'd be saving by moving to the house, etc. My guess is it'd cost you at least that much to get out of your lease, but you never know.

Good luck.

ScottGem · Sep 5, 2007, 08:29 AM

Yes its correct. When you signed that letter you committed yourself to another year on the lease. That they didn't send you back a copy YET is immaterial.

Your options are to either find another renter that the leasing company will accept or to sublease.

What you should have done, is not sign the letter, but ask that you be considered a month to month tenant until you can find a new place.

misssoky04 · Sep 5, 2007, 08:36 AM

I didn't realize month to month was an option, and don't know that it is. Is there ever a possibility of changing the terms of a lease, perhaps making it a 6 month lease instead. Does that ever happen?

misssoky04 · Sep 5, 2007, 08:37 AM

Oh and sub leasing isn't permitted, by the lease. I'm quite sure the next person that comes through their door looking for a one bedroom apartment would like to have mine. It is a great apartment, but it is expensive. $670 a month rent plus $75 a month parking.

excon · Sep 5, 2007, 08:48 AM

Hello miss:

Yes, you're stuck. However, if you break the lease, the landlord just can't sit back and collect rent on an empty apartment. Depending on your state law, he is required to mitigate your losses, and if your apartment is highly rentable, then your losses would be minimal.

If you point this out to the landlord, he may be willing to let you go.

excon

misssoky04 · Sep 5, 2007, 08:59 AM

So if I break the lease and he rents it out, I don't have to pay on my old lease? Is there a possibility that they could just not show it, or would they be required to show it? I'm confident that they could find someone pretty quickly. I was hoping that they would just make me pay October's rent and perhaps lose my deposit. That would give them until November 1st to find someone, which I am quite certain they could do.

excon · Sep 5, 2007, 09:10 AM

Originally Posted by misssoky04

So if I break the lease and he rents it out, I don't have to pay on my old lease? Is there a possibility that they could just not show it, or would they be required to show it?

Hello again, miss:

You'll have to pay the difference between what he would have received from you and what he's receiving from the new tenant. He can't double dip.

Yes, depending again on your states landlord tenant law, he IS required to mitigate your damages. So, yes, he's going to have to show it, and YES, you're going to have to make sure he does.

If he doesn't, when he sues you, just tell the judge.

excon

ScottGem · Sep 5, 2007, 09:35 AM

Another option is to offer a buyout. You can offer the landlord two months to buyout of the lease. If its as highly desirable as you say, that should give them enough time to re rent it.

As excon said, they can't double dip and they also can't sit on the apt and not try to rent it. But you would have to prove they have not made a good faith effort to rent it.

I would also not suggest breaking the lease since that will force them to sue you and that would go on your credit record.

rockinmommy · Sep 5, 2007, 09:47 AM

What does your lease say about re-letting charges, losing your damage deposit, etc.

I agree with ex-con, but it's not quite as cut and dried as that. If they are a professional management company, with a formal lease agreement I'm guessing they'll have some way to get more money out of you. Would your unit be the only vacancy? If there are other vacancies they can fill those first and save yours until last as long as they're collecting rent from you. I'm not saying you wouldn't have a case, say in court, but this isn't their first rodeo and if it goes down the road of suing and all that they're going to have their ducks in a row and know exactly what they can get away with. (I'm guessing - they may not be that good.)

Have you just called them to pose the general question about getting out of the lease, or have you actually gone in, sat down with someone and really plead your case? It's a lot harder to shoot someone down right to their face when they're pleading with you. Tell them how much you LOVE the apartment, but you really, really need something more affordable so you can start saving up to buy a house, blah, blah, blah. Be super, duper cooperative. Find out what they need YOU to do to make this happen. Can you have your unit sparkling clean each morning so they can show it throughout the day if a good candidate drops by and wants to see something?

Personally, if a tenant is willing to work with me I'll bend over backwards to do what I can to help them out. That doesn't mean it still won't cost them something. If a tenant basically bails it first of all removes the opportunity that I could have helped make things easier for them, and it doesn't improve my attitude towards them either. Just my 2 cents.
Karla in TX

misssoky04 · Sep 5, 2007, 12:08 PM

The lease does say you can not sub lease unless approved by the owner. I went in last night to talk to the leasing office manager. I talked to her briefly and she basically said that she can't offer me anything, it is up to the owner. But basically there was nothing I could do to get out of it. I got pretty upset when she said there was nothing, and I've been sick and weak any way, and couldn't help it and started crying. That's when she said she'd see if she could get him to do a buyout. She said he doesn't do it often, but sometimes he will offer a 3-4 months rent buyout. But honesly I can't afford that. I could do two months probably.

I have a friend who is an attorney and he found a section somewhere that says if I vactate they have to try to rent and can't collect from both. So I guess that is true in KY. He said section 151.44 subsection C. I tried to find it, but couldn't, and don't want to bother him again, I've called twice. He said he found it on what sounded like 'annlegal.com' but I couldn't find that site.

When I came to look at my apartment, there were only two one bedroom apartments available. The one I have and one on the 20th floor facing away from the city (the less desirable view). They have 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms as well (in a 30 story building) but that does seem to me like they are near capacity on one bedrooms most of time. I would think it would rent quickly.

ScottGem · Sep 5, 2007, 12:36 PM

Ok, here's what you are looking for:

http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/KRS/383-00/670.PDF

Not sure where your atty friend found that section, but its been changed. But this says the same thing.

Buildings like that often have a waiting list. You might check to see if there is one for the building. I would still offer the 2 month buyout.

misssoky04 · Sep 5, 2007, 01:46 PM

I just talked to the leasing office manager. She said the owner won't offer me any type of buy out. Nothing. I have to pay the full year no matter what. It looks like the only option I have with these folks is to try using that law and playing mean. I don't want to do that though, as it is risky for me. I think I'm going to have a friend call and see what the availability of one bedrooms is. If they have a waiting list or just a few available, I might try that. Otherwise I don't think it is smart for me to risk it.

froggy7 · Sep 5, 2007, 08:48 PM

If you break your lease to rent the house, be aware that the new landlord may call the old one and see what kind of tenant you are. Plus, most applications I've filled out ask if you have ever been evicted, etc. If the house is a highly desirable property, and there are several people interested in it, that information is likely to get you dropped to the bottom of the pile of candidates. Just a thought.