Josh
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Apartment leases are confusing to most normal people simply because they are filled with lots of legal jargon and other complicated terms. Due to their complexity, many people shy away from dealing with their lease out of fear that they might violate the agreement and incur some type of financial penalty. However, if your situation calls for you to have to move and terminate your lease early, then you’re going to have to do that. If you live in one of the apartments in Durham, NC and are looking to move out, how exactly can you terminate your lease without violating any parts of the contract or incurring penalties? Let’s take a look.
Reread Your Lease
The first thing you should do if you’re thinking about terminating your lease early is to go through and reread your lease. Some leases have specific guidelines about when and how you can terminate the lease, and many contain an array of termination fees. Before you decide to terminate your lease officially, you should understand everything that you’re required to do and any fees you’ll have to pay. By doing this, you won’t be blindsided by hidden fees or processes and the termination will go much more smoothly.
Talk With Your Landlord
Once you’ve made your decision about terminating your lease, you should talk with your landlord as soon as possible. Explaining the situation of why you need to terminate your lease and move out can help ease tensions and help the landlord understand. Additionally, giving your landlord plenty of time to prepare and find new tenants will make them much less upset about the early termination. Some situations may require you to terminate your lease quickly and won’t allow you to give a lot of notice, but if you have the time you should definitely give your landlord an advance warning.
Find a New Renter
Another great way to get on your landlord’s good side and soften the blow of early termination is by finding a new renter for your apartment. This new renter can either sublease from your current lease agreement, or they can rerent and sign a brand new lease agreement. Having a new renter ready for your apartment helps your landlord mitigate the damages incurred by your termination. If you don’t have a new renter lined up, you may have to pay your apartment’s rent until a new renter is found. To avoid this, ask around your friends and inner circle and see if anyone is apartment hunting.
Prepare for Termination Fees
Early termination of your lease is costly for your landlord, as they’re losing a tenant and a source of income. A lease is a binding legal document, and terminating it early will likely result in fees so your landlord can recoup some of the lost income. Some landlords may offer an early termination fee, allowing you to pay a set amount upfront in order to terminate your lease. Other landlords may require you to continue paying rent until a new tenant is found. Regardless of how your lease is set up, there’s a high probability that you’ll incur some type of termination costs, so you save up and prepare for these fees.