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Options for early lease termination in Florida?
Anonymous2 views3 answers
I am 6 months into a 12 month lease on a condo in Florida. I have to relocate to North Carolina immediately due to a family crises. Although I am moving out within the week, I gave my landlord 45 days written notice and notified them that I would be paying through the end of the following month and asked, since these are extenuating circumstandes, to be released from the lease without penalty. They have refused, indicating that I am still responsible for the remainder of the lease. There is no early termination clause or penalty in the lease that I had signed. It would be finacially devastating for me to continue to pay this rent beyond 1 or 2 additional months. Do I have any recourse or rights?
If there is no early termination provision in your lease, you are obligated to pay rent for the entire term of the lease unless the landlord rents out the property to someone else after you leave. If you are unsure or your rights and responsibilities as a tenant, you should consult an experienced landlord/tenant lawyer in your area.
You have the rights and responsibilities outlined in the written lease agreement.
If no written agreement, then you have the rights and responsibilities as outlined by your one-year verbal agreement to rent according to the Florida Statutes, Chapter 83.
You can turn over possession to the landlord by giving them the keys and surrendering the premises in a clean condition. Be sure to take notes and pictures to protect yourself before you turn over the keys. If landlord won't meet you, mail the keys with a tracking number from the USPS and include a letter with your forwarding address.
Perhaps they will just take your security deposit and not pursue you for the rest of the lease agreement. I would advise you to keep it as friendly as possible. Remind them that this is something that you must do, not something you are choosing to do. Recognize that they can press the issue and sue you for the remainder of the lease. Make it easy for them to rent again and maybe they will make it easy on you by not pursuing you for the money.
Good luck.
You should explore the possibility of sub-renting the premises. The lease and/or the COA bylaws may prohibit such a thing, and if they do not then the sub-tenant would have to pass through the same application process that you did.
