How to Break an Apartment Lease Agreement Without Penalty

Without getting any further into this blog post, let me say one thing - you should never try to break your apartment lease. Period.

There are various ways on how you can avoid breaking your apartment lease and you don't have to be a genius to succeed.

It's a legally binding agreement

Why do you think a landlord makes you go over like 30 pages of the annoying fine print right before you get keys to your new apartment? Your landlord is trying to save his own butt from deep troubles that may await him in the near future, should you end up being the wrong tenant for him.

Read your lease carefully before signing

This is something 50% the new tenants will fail to do.
You're sitting there so excited to get those new keys, check the amazing views from your new apartment and totally daydreaming while your landlord is going over your paperwork that you're about to sign. I bet you missed all the important stuff and will later face all the issues with the move out. 

How to Break an Apartment Lease Agreement Without Penalty

Your leasing agreement always has some kind of clause that states what you must do in case you cannot fulfill the entire part of the lease.

As mentioned above, it's one of those things that everyone should pay attention to during the signing of lease and ask your landlord on the consequences of getting out of lease early. 

Usually, there's only one way - it's for you to find a replacement tenant to take over your lease in full. Unfortunately, it all your responsibility and your landlord will certainly confirm it.

If you don't find yourself someone to take over your lease, then you would either be obligated to pay off remaining months off or break the lease, which would cost you approximately two months worth of your rent payments, plus a forfeiture of your security deposit. For example, if you pay $1000 per month and your security deposit was $500. Then, to officially break the lease with your landlord, you'll be obligated to pay $2500. Unfortunately, that's the law and your landlord will hold you to it in court, should you fail to pay, as stated on your leasing agreement. 

Should I offer incentives when transferring my lease?

If you're in a dire need to get your apartment lease transferred to someone ASAP, then you should start thinking of the incentives to offer to your future replacement tenant.

What can I really offer other than a cleaned apartment?

Well, first of, a cleaned apartment is not an incentive - it's the minimum state that the apartment should be in when it's getting transferred to someone else.

There is a lot of competition out there online and many folks are trying to lease out their apartment in the same price range as you.  So, how do you really stand out from this crowd? How do you make your apartment look like it's a better deal?  It's all about how much you're willing to lose in order to win!

Let's assume that you're currently paying $1300 for your rent every month and you have 7 months left on your lease.  You also have a security deposit of $500 assigned in your name at the leasing office.  However, you're really looking to get out of apartment lease in 2 weeks time, because you're moving out of town for your new job.  What are you going to do?

As it has been mentioned above, you need to lose some before you win some..and that applies to offering some cash incentives for the potential tenant interested in your apartment lease.  I almost guarantee that if you offer some discounted rate on your monthly rent and transfer half of your security deposit over to someone who's willing to take over your apartment lease...then, you can certainly win yourself a true replacement tenant instantly.

Will I get out of my apartment lease without penalty?

Cash incentives are almost always lucrative.  If you offer the cash incentives above to a replacement tenant, then a tenant will most likely sign on to your lease and you'll be able to get out of apartment lease without penalty to your landlord.

Breaking an apartment lease with caution

"Know thy leasing agreement" is what I would suggest you do before you decide to break your lease.  Best place to start is to pick your leasing agreement that you had signed when you moved into this apartment.  It will state a clause explaining what and what not to do if you decide to break your legally binded agreement.

Leases can be broken for many reasons where the landlord is at some fault with no cost or penalty to the tenant. However, if you want to break a lease based on your personal plans or needs, like buying a home, you may be held liable unless you take proper steps to protect yourself.

Keep in mind, breaking an apartment lease and then trying to apply for a home mortgage will not do you any good in getting approved for it.  This record will go on your credit report almost instantly.  So, when the bank is trying to check your credit, they will clearly see your unpaid balance to your landlord and question it right away.  Plus, your credit score will go down by at least 50-70 points due to your apartment lease break.  

If you're not sure what you should do, when it comes to breaking leases, then simply consult with your legal counsel.  Even though, the consultation fee might cost you couple hundred dollars, but at least you'll sleep just fine at night and not be worried about anything going wrong on your credit report.

Learn how to get out of lease the smart way, not the quick way.  It will hurt you in the end and might cause a lot of inconvenience in terms of buying power for you and your family.

What's the average cost to break an apartment lease?

The average cost to break an apartment lease differs for everyone.  The reason being is it all depends on how much you pay monthly for your apartment rent.

The consequences of breaking an apartment lease could be quite severing for most people.  The industry standard is usually a fee of two months rent, plus a non-refundable security deposit.

So, if your monthly rent is $1000, and you put down another $1000 security deposit to move in, then breaking an apartment lease would cost you a total of $3000  ($1000 x 2 months, plus $1000 security deposit).

However, imagine how some people have an apartment rent
al of $3000-$4000 per month in California or New York?  Those would be some atrocious fees that someone would end up paying to get out of their lease.

So, an average cost to break an apartment lease will really depend on how much you pay monthly and then multiply it by two, to make it a two month's rental fee.

Consequences of breaking an apartment lease

Breaking your apartment lease and leaving early has its serious consequences. There is a reason why you sign an apartment lease agreement which has many different clauses on it. You obligate yourself to all of them when you place your signature there.

Your landlord will hold you responsible and will have no mercy should you decide to move out and screw him over the lease. Believe it or not, most landlords win court cases and they know all ins and outs on how to punish you legally-wise.

There is an amazing opportunity that is offered by a company called Takeoverlease.us that helps you get out of lease without really breaking it. Takeoverlease have amazing online reviews from customers all over the country. Sitejabber, Google Business and many other independent sources talk about experiences with Takeoverlease.

Tips You Should Follow When Breaking a Lease Agreement

First of all, it's always advised that you never ever break your apartment lease agreement, unless you really really have to do that.  Breaking a lease requires unforeseen expenses out of pocket and huge headaches ahead.

Your first stop should be your landlord

Assuming that your life status has changed and you have to leave your hometown for a new job.  Ok, that's reasonable.  However, your landlord would most likely not care.  Why? Because he will instantly point to the leasing agreement that you had originally signed and that agreement states that you are legally bound to comply with the agreement.


If your landlord's words are not enough proof for you

If your landlord told you some gibberish and you don't believe what he said, I would strongly go back home and check your leasing agreement.  Look at a clause that will have words such as 'Lease Breaking' or 'Lease Assignment' or even 'Sublease'.  It should say something about breaking a lease agreement that will instantly give you your answer.

If your lease state you can transfer your lease - you're in luck

So, here's what you need to do.  As long as your apartment agreement that you signed states that you can transfer your apartment lease to anyone who's willing to take it, then all you have to do is find that qualified tenant.  Tenant will have to be qualified to take over your lease.  Potential tenant must have the following in place, in order for your landlord to qualify him/her:

• Good credit report - no eviction history
• Background - no criminal records
• Potential tenant(s) must show payment stubs with 3x the rent on monthly basis

If all these factors are in place, then your tenant will surely qualify without any issues. Landlords usually take 1-3 business days to run all these verifications.  

Avoid breaking a lease and avoid subletting your apartment

Breaking your apartment lease is the last thing you want to do to yourself. It will cost you so much money, that in the end you'll ask yourself a question, "why didn't I choose other alternatives?" to get out of your lease.

If you are ever in a position where you just have to get out of lease, you need to first try to talk to your landlord and explain the situation. Sometimes landlords are not as bad as most people portray them. Some landlords totally understand life changing situations and would listen to you, especially if you've been a good tenant and always paid your monthly rent in a timely fashion.

You need to take every precaution out there to avoid breaking a lease.  Best thing of course is to find yourself a real qualified tenant who would replace you on your apartment lease.  However, I strongly suggest that you NEVER sublet your apartment.  This will cause you unbelievable headache. How? Well, assume you have three months left on your lease and you find some sketchy guy off of Craigslist and let him in your apartment, while you're away.  When the three months are up, you come back and you place is totally trashed.  What happens next? You go to your leasing office and tell them this story, they'll just charge you double because you had no authority to sublet to anyone who's not been approved.  The leasing office could even file charges against you or make you pay for all the damages and never return your security deposit back to you.  Subletting is a very grey area, don't ever do it.

How to Get Out of Lease?

No one really signs an apartment lease for the purpose of breaking it later.  Most people consciously go in and sign a 6-12 month lease knowing that they will be there for that period of time.  

Unfortunately, life is not a straight line and it comes with unexpected surprises, like a new job offer in another state, buying a home or even finding a much cheaper and better deal on apartment lease.  So, that's when a headache begins on finding all the possible way on how to get out of lease.

Breaking your lease due to job relocation

Ok, so you got a new job in a totally different state.  The job offer is way too good to pass by and you just have to take it.  Now's the time to really pick up your leasing agreement and see if there's a clause for something like "lease assignment" or clause on "breaking your lease". Usually, there is a provisional clause for renters who are looking to break their lease early and it consists of a two month's rent penalty and/or loss of your security deposit.  It all depends how soon you are looking to get out and how early you're giving this notice to your landlord. Sometimes, if you give a one to two months notice, your landlord might not charge you all that much and would be able to find a replacement tenant on your behalf.    

Unfortunately, most of the time, your landlord will say that it's your responsibility to find a tenant who would take over your apartment lease for the remaining period.  

Do you really want to sublet your apartment?

I don't recommend that you try to sublet your apartment.  This is of course the last resort, but it can be a huge headache in the end.  You see, the difference between a Lease assignment and Sublease is during a lease assignment, you find a tenant who's able to get financially approved and take over your lease. This means, your name will be off the lease completely.  Now, a sublease is when you find someone who gets added to your name on the lease and you simply let someone temporarily reside in your place.  So, what happens when this person trashes your apartment? Guess what, your name will still be on this lease and your apartment landlord will make you responsible and deduct your security deposit, plus add on some other charges.  Not fun, right?  

So, what's the best way to get out of my apartment lease?

The only best way to get out of your apartment lease without any issues with your landlord or having any blemish on your credit report is to find a replacement tenant who's willing to take over your lease in it's entirety.