Housing issues / eviction

If someone wants to get out of their lease, generally a landlord does not have to let that person off of the lease since a lease is a legal contract that is supposed to be upheld by all parties. If there are two or more tenants on the lease, it may be the case that any or all parties who sign a lease can be liable to the landlord for all of the rent that would be due during the whole lease term – and a landlord may be able to sue anyone on the lease for the rent. Also, if there are co-tenants, and one tenant stops paying rent (because they move out, for example), it may be possible that the tenant who paid the rent might be able to sue the non-paying tenant for their share of the rent even if they no longer live there.

[USE THIS SPECIFICALLY IF SHE SAYS SHE WANTS TO GET ABUSER OFF OF THE LEASE] If this is not a marital home and the abuser is not on the lease, then someone who wants to try to get an abuser out of the home may have to take them to housing court to try to evict them. Although I am not specifically familiar with your state’s housing laws, generally a person cannot just “kick out” a person who has been living in the home and change the locks once a person has lived in a location for more than a certain amount of time.

[USE THIS IF SHE MAY BE A VICTIM OF DV] In many states, however, even if someone may be legally bound by the terms of a lease, they may be able to get out of the lease without penalty if they are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. This is because in many states there are laws that allow these victims to break their leases in order to stay safe from an abuser. CHECK TO SEE IF WE HAVE INFO ON HOUSING PROTECTIONS UNDER ‘KNOW THE LAWS’ FOR HER STATE – IF SO, INCLUDE IT. IF NOT, see the sample language called “LINK TO CHART that tells which states have lease protections for DV victims” - USE THAT LINK AND SAMPLE LANGUAGE. SAY: Although WomensLaw does not have any information about this type of law in your state, this doesn’t necessarily mean that such a law does not exist. If you are a victim of domestic violence, you may want to reach out to your state’s Coalition Against Domestic Violence [HYPERLINK] or your local legal services office [HYPERLINK] to ask whether this kind of housing law exists in your state.] An order of protection may be another option for a victim of abuse who is trying to stay safe. On our website you can find information about restraining orders in your state [HYPERLINK] if this is something you want to look into, and also tips for staying safe.

It may also be useful to talk to a lawyer that specializes in landlord-tenant law in STATE to see if there are any other rights that you may have in your situation. [IF YOU DIDN’T ALREADY LINK TO FINDING A LAWYER ABOVE, LINK HERE WHERE IT’S IN BOLD]