How Do I Get Out of My Lease in Alabama?

Subleasing and assignments must be approved by your landlord.

There are many different legitimate reasons for someone to break a lease. If you find a new job or must leave the area for another compelling reason, you may be forced to move out of your rental, whether commercial or an apartment--before the lease period has expired.



There is one way to to get our of your lease in Alabama: an assignment. An assignment transfers all the contractual obligations of the lease to another party. Not all lease agreements allow assignments, so you'll need to read yours to make sure you can do this.

Things You'll Need

• Lease agreement

Instructions

1. Draft a letter requesting to assign your lease to another person. Include that person's name and any other relevant information about him or her. Keep a copy of this letter for your own records.

   Your landlord does not have to accept your assignment, but he or she must provide a valid reason if your request is denied. For example, it would be unreasonable for your landlord to deny your assignment based on race or gender. On the other hand, it would be reasonable to deny your request if the new person has a criminal record.

2. Wait 30 days for a response. If you receive no response to your letter or your landlord cites an unreasonable reason for denying the assignment, you do have the right to terminate the lease. You cannot terminate the lease if you are given a reasonable denial of your assignment.

3. If your landlord agrees to the assignment, make sure to get your release from any lease obligations in writing from him or her. This agreement will state that you are no longer responsible for the lease and that you no longer have any rights to the property.

4. Get a copy of the new lease agreement from the new tenant (the person to whom you assigned the lease) for your records. This will help prove that your lease obligations were terminated--in case any questions about the lease arise in the future.

Tips & Warnings

• Contact a lawyer if you think your landlord has given an unreasonable reason for not accepting your assignment. What may seem unreasonable to you may not be so in the eyes of the law. For the most part, a landlord will deny the assignment because of the potential renter's criminal history or because this person may not have the financial means of paying the rent. These, clearly, are perfectly reasonable grounds to deny an assignment.

References

• Real Estate Lawyers: Rights to Sublet, Share, and Assign on a Commercial Lease
• Tenant: Your Rights to Sublet, Share, and Assign Apartments