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Housing issues / eviction

Brief explanation of what happens when tenant breaks lease (discusses suing for rent and LL mitigating damages)

A lease is a legal contract that is supposed to be upheld by all parties. If a tenant breaks the lease by moving out, the landlord can sue the tenant for the remaining rent owed on the lease. Some states say that the landlord has a “duty to mitigate their damages,” which means that the landlord has to do their best to try to find a tenant to replace the one that left. In other words, the landlord can’t just sit back and do nothing and collect rent on an empty apartment. But, if the landlord can prove that they tried to find a tenant but couldn’t, then the tenant who broke the lease could be liable for all of the rent owed on the lease. Or, if the landlord finds a tenant a few months later, for example, the tenant who broke the lease can be sued for the months that the apartment was empty. The tenant can also lose their security deposit if there were any damages to the apartment that can be proven.

Sometimes a landlord may choose to just keep the security deposit and put it towards the unpaid rent instead of suing for the remainder of the rent. This may be more common if they want to avoid the hassle of filing in court or if they think they can quickly get another tenant. It can also be possible for a tenant to negotiate an amount with the landlord to pay for breaking the lease in order to avoid being sued, since being sued can negatively impact their ability to get approved for future rentals. In addition, if a money judgment issued against the person for the rent owed on the lease, it can affect their credit score. Lastly, most leases have a clause in them that say if the tenant is sued for rent, the tenant will also have to pay the legal fees of the landlord, which can run in the thousands. Therefore, these are the reasons why some people choose to negotiate an agreement with their landlord if they are breaking their lease – however, it’s very important that the agreement is in writing and that it clearly states that the tenant is cleared of all liability related to the lease and any future rent owed.

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