Dec
21
What are the consequences of breaking a lease in NJ?
By
I found a place with a yard, deck,etc for the same rent need to break my 2 yr lease the place I live in now has no place to go outside is in town near shops,etc also…no fire escape or second egress for emergency exit
Repossession
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3 Comments
March 21st, 2010 at 6:51 am
You could still be held liable (accountable) for the remaining time on your existing lease, or at least until the property owners find someone else to lease the premises. It’s something that you should negotiate with the owners, because they have the upper hand on the enforcement of the lease contract and you could end up paying for two leases….until one expires.
March 24th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Not having a yard and being in town near shops isn’t grounds for a constructive eviction in NJ, or anyplace else that I know of.
You may be able to do it over the fire escape and second exit issue though if the building isn’t up to code. How did this building pass inspection?
Call the building inspector. The only problem with that approach is if your landlord brings the building up to code, you won’t have grounds for constructive eviction … but you will be in a safe building.
Have you tried going to your landlord and telling him that you want to move to a more rural area and simply asking if you can get out of your lease? Maybe he will be willing to work something out with you.
If you do end up just breaking your lease, your landlord has a duty to mitigate his damages, meaning that he has to look for another tenant and make all reasonable efforts to rent the unit as soon as possible. He can’t just leave it empty and go after you for the money.
If there is a gap between tenants or he has expenses (ads, etc), he will probably sue you for any rent monies lost plus the expenses.
March 25th, 2010 at 6:08 am
A good way around this (since you are liable for the monies) is if you know someone who might want to rent the place and who would be a good tenant (pay on time, not destroy stuff, etc.) you might offer a swap with the landlord. After the landlord does his/her due diligence, you may have a win-win situation.