Does Breaking a Lease Agreement in Florida Affect Credit?
When you rent a house or apartment, both you and your landlord must abide by the terms of the lease. A lease locks a tenant into living in a certain place for a prespecified period of time. It also stipulates the rules the tenant and landlord must follow during the resident’s tenancy. State laws dictate the rights that tenants and landlords have regarding leases. Depending on your specific circumstances, Florida law may allow you to break your lease without damaging your credit.
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Lease Violations
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If a landlord violates the terms of a Florida lease and the tenant notifies him of the violation in writing – making it clear that she intends to look elsewhere for housing if the problem is not fixed within seven days – the landlord must remedy the problem within the given time frame. If he does not, the tenant is free to break her lease without penalty.
If the issue is beyond the landlord’s control and renders the home uninhabitable, the landlord must make a genuine effort to correct the problem. The tenant has the right to vacate the premises until the issue is fixed. The landlord cannot charge her rent during this period.
Leaving the Home
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If you break your lease early, Florida law allows the landlord to continue charging you rent until he finds another tenant to rent your home or apartment or until your original lease term expires, whichever comes first.
If your lease contained a “lease break fee,” and you chose to accept the fee, your landlord must charge you the fee rather than charging you rent every month for a residence you no longer inhabit.
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Refusing to Pay
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If you do not pay the rent your landlord is due or the lease break fee, the landlord can sue you for the unpaid rent or sell your delinquent balance to a collection agency. If the landlord successfully sues you, a judgment will appear on your credit report. If the landlord turns your debt over to collections, a collection agency notation will appear on your credit report. Both judgments and collection accounts are derogatory credit entries that negatively affect your credit score.
Credit Impact
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Unlike mortgage payments, the rent you pay your landlord each month does not appear on your credit report. Thus, you can break your lease without damaging your credit provided you pay the landlord what you are legally obligated to pay when you break a lease early. Any time you walk away from a debt without paying it, such as ignoring a lease break fee you owe, you risk damage to your credit rating.
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