What is a Lease?
A rental lease is a contract between the landlord and resident in which rental terms are defined and agreed upon. This includes the term of the lease, the rent amount, and other responsibilities for both the resident and the landlord.
What is Considered “Breaking a Lease”?
Since the lease is a legally binding contract, vacating prior the specified date is considered breaking the lease. The lease is specific to the property address and residents listed, so transferring the lease to another name or property is not allowed (Wolf & Kline does not allow subletting).
Protected Reasons for Breaking a Lease:
In some cases, having to vacate prior to your lease end date is protected by state laws. For example, active-duty military who receive orders are protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. If the rental unit is uninhabitable (does not meet health and safety codes for the state) this would be another acceptable reason to break the lease. Also, if the landlord violates privacy of the resident, for example entering without notice or harassing the resident, these could be reasons to be released early from a lease.
Examples of Unprotected Reasons for Breaking a Lease:
Examples of things that will NOT release you early from a lease include job relocation, divorce or relationship breakups, or buying a home. If you are still locked into a lease with a roommate and one of you wants to leave, typically both/all leaseholders will still be responsible until the end of the lease term. Problems with roommates is not a legal reason to break a lease, so be careful who you sign with!
What Happens If You Break Your Lease?
For Wolf & Kline, our leases are typically for one year, and then automatically renew month-to-month after that.
Resident may not end this lease and move out of the property before the ending date of the lease or any renewal term unless resident does the following:
While some things in life are unpredictable, it is best to do everything you can to avoid breaking your lease. Breaking your rental agreement could affect your credit if financial obligations are not taken care of, as well as making it harder to rent again in the future if a landlord requires previous rental references.
