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Kelley78 · May 19, 2007, 01:41 PM

My fiancé and I are purchasing a house. We haven't had the best experience with our current landlord. He is now being a stickler about the duplex we are living in since we want to terminate the lease. My question is this, Is there a law in the state of VA regarding the termination of a lease due to purchasing a house? Is it a law that the landlord has to let us out of our lease if we show proof of purchasing a house?
Please help!! :confused:

Fr_Chuck · May 19, 2007, 01:51 PM

The only law is that no he does not have to let you out, unless your specific lease has this as part of its terms and conditions. Normaly added by people thinking they are going to be buying a home.

So no unless you have this in your lease, he does not have to let you out early. You can be held liable till he rents it to someone else or to the end of the lease if it does not rent out.

hvacservicetech_07 · May 19, 2007, 01:57 PM

Why can't you just put in a 30 day notice?

hvacservicetech_07 · May 19, 2007, 04:36 PM

excon, my answer was in the form of a question , hence the question mark! Not advice... but thanks.

excon · May 19, 2007, 04:42 PM

Hello hv:

Sorry, dude. I'm not used to seeing questions in the answer section. It was a greenie, though.

excon

hvacservicetech_07 · May 19, 2007, 04:48 PM

I live in Illinois and own 3 rental houses, regardless of what lease I make a tenant sign a 30 day notice always breaks the lease and as long as they leave the place in the same condition as when they moved in then we all part ways. So I guess I was asking Chuck why that wouldn't apply it this situation??

excon · May 19, 2007, 05:19 PM

Hello again, hv:

The Padre will be along. He might have a different opinion than mine, but I doubt it.

You're in the landlord business. Everybody in business runs their business a little differently. That's why some become wildly successful and others fall flat. If you're happy and profitable in your landlord business doing business the way you do, nobody is going to criticize you - certainly not me.

However, some landlords count on a lease being fulfilled. They hold up their end and expect their tenant to do the same. I think it's a reasonable expectation on both parts, and we generally advise people here to stick to the letter of their agreements.

Certainly, if their landlord wants to let them out, he can. But he doesn't have to, and I don't expect that he will.

excon

excon · May 19, 2007, 05:28 PM

Hello again:

Nahh, you don't have to put that in your lease.

At the top of this forum is a sticky with the landlord tenant laws in each state. Since you're in the landlord business, you should get familiar with the rules that govern the landlord business. After all, you wouldn't play poker without knowing the rules, would you?

excon

Fr_Chuck · May 19, 2007, 05:32 PM

Because in a lease you are not allowed to get out with just a 30 day notice, if you allow it, there is no reason to even have a lease. A lease obligates the other party to stay and rent for the term of the lease.

If they move out before the end of the lease, they can be required to pay all rents, keep the utilities on until the landlord finds a new tenant, or the lease ends. The landlord is required to look for a new tenant, but if for example the rental would take 3 months to get someone to move into it, the tenant will have to pay rent till the new tenant moves in. It is a protection for the landlord that he knows he will get his rent for the entire year. And it protects the tenant knowing the rent can not be increased for that year

But no, in Illinios unless you are in Chiago and under the rent control board, a lease is still a lease, and if they leave before the end of the lease, you can hold them liable for all rent till you have someone else move in.
Now maybe you are just a nice landlord, I know I am, I have let my renters get by with a lot of things I don't have to. But basically if you are doing that, you are merely missing out on a month or two rent. You wold be better off not even having a lease, that way you can get rid of a bad tenant easier.