How To Mitigate Damages from a Residential Lease Early Termination

Terminating a residential lease can be costly, but as a tenant you have every right to try and mitigate your damages, so that you can receive as much of your deposit back as possible. The most important way to do this is by planning as much as time permits. While a landlord can sometimes re-rent your apartment, you will be much more motivated as the financially accountable party.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Find a qualified applicant to replace you for the rest of your lease term. Put up an ad on Craig's List, and try to show your apartment to as many people as you can before you leave the area. Your landlord should be able to provide you with an application you can photocopy and give out to interested renters. Even if your lease does not allow subletting, a landlord must work with you to lessen the costs, in the event you vacate the apartment; he does not have free reign to charge you for the full lease term.

2. Show your apartment as much as possible. If your landlord can demonstrate he couldn't find any qualified tenants, the court will obligate you to continue paying rent after you break the lease. If the landlord or management company must show the apartment in your absence, you may be charged by individual showing. When you show your apartment, make sure it is neat and organized. Remember, you have a stake in securing a new tenant. Highlight things that attracted you to the rental and any amenities such as on-site laundry, storage, parking, fitness areas, outdoor space or pools.

3. Plan for a 24-hour turnover. Finding a qualified applicant before your departure from your current residence can save a lot of money, but it takes communication. Agree on a move-in date for the person taking over your lease that is a day after your last day in the apartment, so you can have the rent you already paid reimbursed. Plan a walk-through with your property manager or landlord that falls before a business day, and try to plan for this as early as possible so that there is no reason for scheduling to be a problem.

4. Clean your apartment. Change every burned-out light bulb or dead smoke detector battery. Put any closet doors back on tracks and fill small pinholes in walls. Make sure no screens are loose and that the blinds have been wiped down. Ask your landlord for instructions on how she expects the apartment to be returned, and ask her to put it in writing. Most management companies already have this information, but you will be better off getting the cleaning expectations in writing so that there is no room for miscommunication. A landlord will often have to call in a professional cleaner that charges a minimum fee, because it is not in her scope of work.

5. Abate mandatory charges for breaking your lease early. Depending on your circumstances, a landlord or property management company may waive or at least decrease any early termination fees that are applicable. While you may not be entitled to negotiate early termination fees, appeal to the fact that a goodwill gesture is good public relations, and that word of mouth brings more business than unhappy former tenants that were nickel-and-dimed during a difficult time. Either way, it does not hurt to look into abating fees in your lease, and double-check that the fees comply with state and county laws. While sometimes a landlord does retain the right to withhold certain fees from a security deposit as per the lease agreement signed, one can argue that it is in very poor taste.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you get the lease termination in writing; otherwise your lease is a valid contract that also invalidates any new lease on your apartment.
• If you are not in the area, make sure to advertise the apartment remotely, and field any calls from prospective tenants so you can get your apartment re-rented as quickly as possible.

Resources

• Residential Lease/Rental Agreement Form

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