How to Break a Mobile Home Lot Lease

You may be able to use a buyout or subleaser to get out of your lot lease.

When you own a mobile home, you may have to pay lot rent if you don't also own land on which to place the home. Renting land for a mobile home in this way sometimes is cheaper than buying land outright would be. However, because even mobile homes take effort to transport, lot leases can extend for many years. This isn't always advantageous if you find land you want to buy later, or if you get job opportunities elsewhere. Breaking a lot lease is not much different from breaking an apartment or home rental lease.

Things You'll Need

• Lot lease agreement

Instructions

1. Review the terms of your lot lease related to conditions under which it is permissible to break your lease, how much formal notice you must give the landlord before you leave the lot and whether you can utilize either buyout or subletting options.

2. Contact the person with whom you have the lot lease agreement in writing and ask for a free-and-clear early lot lease termination. Your landlord is not obligated to release you from your lease in most cases, but may do so depending on your history and circumstances.

3. Ask your landlord if you can utilize a buyout clause in the lot lease if available if your landlord does not let you out of the lot lease free and clear.

4. Provide all necessary payments to the landlord to terminate the agreement. Get receipts and written, signed notice from your landlord stating he legally terminated the lease.

5. Find a subleaser for the lot if your landlord won't let you out of the rent free and clear and you can't use a buyout.

6. Have the landlord run the subleaser's application and credit and background check.

7. Complete the paperwork with the subleaser and landlord, return the lot to its original condition and transport your mobile home off the lot.

8. Look for evidence the landlord has not fulfilled his obligations under the lot lease if you can't buyout, sublease or otherwise terminate the agreement. Hire an attorney to use this evidence to bring suit against the landlord that will terminate the agreement.

Tips & Warnings

• Regulations in many states require landlords to terminate leases if you are a victim of domestic abuse who needs to leave your location for your own safety or the safety of children and other family members. If your landlord has not violated his terms of the agreement and you are in this situation, talk to an attorney about using these laws to end the lease.

References

• Tenants Legal Center of San Diego: Leases
• Tenant Resource Center: Ending Your Lease: Mutual Agreements, Breaking Your Lease or Subletting
• Bankrate; How to Break a Lease and Stay Creditworthy; Steve McLinden; February 2010