Life is full of surprises and things don’t always go the way we’d like them to. So it happens that after you’ve searched for a rental house and found one, moved in and started getting used to the new neighborhood, something comes up and you have to move to a different place. If you are renting on a fixed term contract, leaving before it ends is called “breaking a lease” (or in lawyers’ language “terminating a tenancy without grounds”).
When it comes to breaking a lease, you need to know your rights as a tenant. Of course the landlord isn’t going to be happy about your leaving, because he’ll have to find a new tenant and that’s a hassle – but there is a limit to how much he can make you pay.
How to break a lease
You have to give a notice to the landlord / his agent as soon as possible and in writing that you intend to leave on a particular date. When you move out and return the keys in that date, your tenancy ends and you can stop paying rent.
What it costs the tenant to break the lease
Because of your leaving early the landlord is entitled to compensation. You will need to compensate him
1) for the loss of rent that he would otherwise be getting and
2) for the costs he incurred to advertise the house again.
This means that you’ll have to pay the rent until a new tenant is found or until your fixed term lease ends. The good news is that the compensation is limited to 25 week’s rent, so even if you’ve just signed for a year and after 3 months had to leave they can’t charge you for the whole remaining 9 months.
Speaking of costs of re-letting the house again, these too have limit. Under no circumstances your landlord can ask for more than a week’s rent to cover these costs. And no matter how much they ask for, request an itemized list specifying all of their expenses to justify the bill. In other words they can’t just charge you a “re-letting fee” of one week’s rent without explaining what exactly they spent that money on and proving that the money was actually spent.
I have heard from friends about cases where the landlord wasn’t trying to find a new tenant and just kept charging the tenants that broke the lease because that was easier for him. You should know that it is actually illegal, and the landlord is not entitled for compensation for loss that could have been minimized or avoided if they had the house advertised for rent. If this is happening to you, here is what you can do:
- Make sure that the agency is advertising the house for rent
- Make sure they haven’t increased the rent (because obviously that will attract fewer prospective tenants)
- Don’t pay the rent (the compensation) up front – you should be compensating for the loss that the landlord has suffered, not covering anticipated loss.
- Until they find a new tenant, keep checking that the house is advertised. If they take it off the market for renovations, you shouldn’t be paying the compensation.
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i am legally married to my spouse.We moved in together to the apt aug 2010 but only my name is on lease cause he had no income and good credit. We contributed equally towards the rent until jan 2011 but i have been paying the rent by myself since feb of 2011 until june 2011 when became unemployed and could no longer afford to pay the rent. In order to avoid eviction I spoke to the landlord and we agreed to break the lease and I will moved out by the end of april 2012. i paid the rent for jan – mar by loaning money from my parents. I have a parttime job now so I agreed to pay the backed rent on installments. But when I told my husband about the move he claimed he is not moving and he is taking it to court. My name is on the lease and I am held responsible for any additional rent owed. Please tell me what do. Do I go back to my landlord and let him know he is refusing to move even after I have broken the lease and we have agreed on a moving date
Hi Kim,
This is a complicated situation. I’m sorry I can’t offer any advice, just sympathy… Have you tried the Tenants Union in your state? They may have tenants’ advocacy services, and people working there normally are experienced with all sorts of tenancy problems.
I hope you can solve this soon!
Hi i am currently renting a house in WA. My partner has had to move back interstate due to not being able to gain employment. Now that he is in another state i can not afford the rent on my own(his name is on the lease). I am also on anti depressants and not having any family or friends in WA for support is extremely difficult.. I am wanting to break the lease and move back interstate to be with my partner and family. Now since the start i have had problems with the house which they said to me before i signed the lease that they would be doing repairs whilst i live here.. That was fine with me until i notice that my house is asbestos now i have 2 young children(2&3), we have wholes in the walls which were their before we moved in.. Which they said would be fixed but unfortunately 2mths in and still not fixed. So we are being exposed to it.. That is just the start of the problems.. I cannot afford to pay them compensation if i break the lease.. PLEASE help how can i go about this.. I can get support letters from my Dr stating that i am not in the right frame of mind to be with out family support on my own with the children..
Thanks Renee
Hi Renee,
If your landlord fails to keep the house in good repair, that’s a breach of contract. In that case you can fill a particular form requiring the landlord to fix whatever is broken, and (if I’m not mistaken) give them 14 days. If they don’t complete the repairs within 14 days you have a full right to terminate the tenancy without compensating the landlord. Please contact the tenants union in your state, they will be able to help you with the paperwork.
Good luck with the move!
Chris
Hi there,
Danni
I am currently in a house with my partner and 2 others. My partner and the other two are on the lease. In short we want to move out.
However, the lease does not end until December.
I know there are options with finding someone else to move in, in our place, but we are worried that because my partner is still on the lease he is liable for any costs at the end if things go wrong.
I just need some advice on what to do.
Can he take his name off the lease? What this affect future leasings?
What are penalties for this etc? I’m not sure of laws in QLD. We are looking for another place and do not want to be black listed due to getting out early. Please help
hi, my current lease ends in 2 weeks. I received a lease re newel a bit earlier than usual which I signed and returned for a further 12 months. the day after I handed back the new lease agreement I got a phonecall from my agent explaining my house was up for sale but my new lease would remain in place. i was ok with this at first but ita niw been a.couple of months of open inspections my normal inflections.okus private inspections if anyone is interested and its becoming to much as I am now 8 mths pregnant living away from my partner for.financial reasons
hi, my current lease ends in 2 weeks. I received a lease re newel a bit earlier than usual which I signed and returned for a further 12 months. the day after I handed back the new lease agreement I got a phonecall from my agent explaining my house was up for sale but my new lease would remain in place. i was ok with this at first but ita niw been a.couple of months of open inspections my normal inspections plus private ones if anyone wants too look. I am 8 months pregnant living away from my partner and.struggling with all of this. ive had no time to relax and cant keep up with the inspections anymore. I want to.cancel this new lease, do I have grounds to do so? and since its up fir sale how will the fees work?
Hi, i have recently moved into a share house with 2 people and one person has just decided to up and leave. We have 3 months left on the lease…and i am not sure what my option are. She says she spoke to the real estate and she does not have to do anything and the real estate will just take her bond. She was paying a higher amount of rent 195 for the main room. So her bond does not even cover four weeks rent. Can she do this, and leave us liable for everything? Her name is also the first person on the bond so the check will go to her, and i fear that she wont give us the money? can i change this?
thank you for any advice
Hi Sarah,
Did you contact the real estate agent yourself, personally, to understand exactly what are they trying to do? What was their decision?
Hi..
I am renting a unit in VIC. Last month we had a major structural damage and the ceiling gradually began to fall down from one corner. We are in the first floor and above the ceiling is nothing but the roof. I formally reported the issue as soon as I witnessed it. It’s been more a month and they haven’t fixed it. Now I could see the roof through breakage of the ceiling. I am convinced that the property is no longer safer to live. So I sent notice to vacate to the landlord. Now the real estate agent is asking to sign a form acknowledging that I am responsible to pay for compensation. As far as I know, the landlord has not fixed the fault even after 14 days and I have the right to send notice and vacate the property without paying any compensation. Am I correct with my understanding? Please help.
Regards,
Aravinth
Hi Aravinth,
It seems that you’re within your rights to move out – your landlord has an obligation to keep the house in good repair. Did you try to contact the Consumer Affairs office or the Tenants union in VIC? They can help, guide you what sort of paperwork you should fill so that you’re not liable for any costs.
I’m in desprit need of some help in WA state. My wife and I have been going through some issues and I was planning a divorce. I found a house and signed a lease in the begining of April 2012. By the end of April I decided to try and work things out with my wife and not move out of our house. I informed my landlord but she is not willing to let me terminate my lease.I haven’t paid the full deposit or the first month’s rent yet. I haven’t even moved in. Is there any legal loop hole I could use to get out of this lease? Thank you.
Hi, I have just signed a lease but am not due to move in for a month. It is private through owner. I am not wanting to move in now am I obliged to move in? I have paid her 1600 bond. Thanks
Hi I am in desperate need of your help! My partner and I rented a house after having a family member view on our behalf before we moved. We were so desperate to secure the place we offered an extra $50 a week rent. When we moved in we found our neighbor was crazy/perverted. I stupidly did not go to the police or contact the tenancies advice, one night he was yelling at me through my bathroom window and scared me so much I rang the realesate agent the next day asking to break my lease. We moved out a week later. And because the property is advertised at a higher price than what most people want, no one wants it. The realesate agent said after a week she would ask the owners to lower it. Today she said if she lowers it by $100, we have to pay that amount weekly for the rest of the lease agreement (6 months!). I almost have no money for food due to paying over $1600 a fortnight in rental bills and sure letting the house to someone for cheaper will take that amount right down but I don’t think it’s legal for her to charge me that $100 a week after someone will be taking over my lease?!
Hi, ive been living in an appartment for 1 year and 6 months now and I am supposed to stay in the appartment for another 6 months for the lease to end but I need to go back in my country for family emergency. What can I do? I cant afford to pay the rent until they find another tenant. What are my options?
Lorie
I am renting an old house for $480 a week. Two rooms received flooding damage 1 1/2 weeks ago. A carpet person came by this Tursday , pulled back half the carpet in both rooms and pulled up half the underlay in 1 room and left it for me to dispose of. He also told me he doesn’t move furniture. He left a “blower” going in the worst smelling room. 5 days later, my daughter had to move out, I have been ill with upper respiratory problems and the house smells horribly. My lease is up early November. I want out now. What are my options. The real estate company ad owners are miserly and don’t seem to understand that tenants have rights.
Hi,
My g/f and her daughter moved in this 3 floor apartments. Before sign the lease, we do our best to check out the place for any sign of non-safe or problem. Everything seem good until moved in.
The problem is the noise caused by the upstairs neighbor when they walk around. They have super heavy foot step. We also found out how bad the structure of the floor is, i’m 165 lbs and i made squeeky sound when walk. The combo of bad floor structure and super heavy footstep cause light sleeper g/f to become a zombie. For more than 2 months since moved in, she had about 4-6 hours sleep per night. I’m worry for her health since she became sick more often, and I believe it cuz of lack of sleep.
The g/f already contact the apartment manager to see if she can move to another unit, but was told that no unit is open and will contact when does. However, I have a gut feeling that they don’t care or another unit will be available anytime soon.
what can i do in this case?
Thanks
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