Whether you have a short or long lease, you might initially be happy with signing a contract to stay somewhere for a specific period of time. Various factors can change that, though, meaning that you might want to get out to live somewhere else. It can seem difficult or impossible to get out of your lease if you don’t know what to look for.
Fortunately, you can find plenty of ways to get out of your lease. Check out some of these ways renters have been able to do so.
Legal Reasons
Depending on the area you live in, you might be able to get out of your rental lease for various legal purposes. These reasons will even ensure that you don’t take any financial hit, whether it be a single-time penalty or a ding to your credit score.
For example, some states make it to break your lease if you are in an unsafe environment. This could mean that you constantly hear crime going on in your apartment complex. Either way, feel free to research legal reasons that could let you get out of your lease completely free.
Penalty
It may happen that you don’t have any legal recourse to break your lease without penalty. Depending on your financial status, you might be ok with paying this penalty if you’re being helped out in the long run. These penalties can differ depending on the lease, though.
For example, some leases will make it so that you have to pay all or a percentage of the remaining rent left on your lease. Other leases will make it so that you pay a specific fee, usually in the low thousands, to ensure that you can break your lease. Fortunately, these penalties typically don’t cause any harm to your credit score or your ability to rent an apartment in the future. Make sure you look into the financial penalty your lease might have so you can gauge if it’s worth it to break your lease or not.
Subletting
If you don’t want to take the financial penalty, you might have the option to start subletting your place. Subletting is the process of taking your lease and letting someone else live in your home, paying a fraction of all of your rent. You will need to be careful, though for legal purposes.
For example, some landlords will only approve of subletting if you have the person looking to sublease your place go under a credit check. Many landlords like this though, as they can gain a tenant that might even sign a new contract with them when the subletting process is over. Look into subletting your lease if you are out of options or you know someone that can take your place.