OT: Apartment Lease

[DudyDog]

Ok guys; need some direction here. Have an apartment lease for first semester from August thru December coming up.

Because of the virus, daughter has decided to transfer to a college where she can live at home and commute to daily.

I know this is not a great reason to try and get out of a lease, but in her mind it is what she feels comfortable with, and she is truly doing it because of the virus. What do you think my chances are of getting out of the lease due to this? Any suggestions on how to go about it? I know I just need to be honest about it and tell them this is why. Thanks in advance.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Good luck. I’d say your chances are very slim. The owner of the apartment complex likely has bills to pay and was counting on this rental income to pay those bills.

 

[dawglawz]

Offering up another tenant to take her spot will take you further than the excuse of covid, which is a reality the landlord is facing, too.

 

[nsvltndog]

Does she have a roommate(s) in the upcoming lease? If so get them working to help find her replacement. In that scenario you may be able transfer the lease or sublet to the new roommate.

In general this is likely to be a tough year for student housing w/ a good bit of new student housing inventory coming on the market at an inopportune time.

 

[Shmuley]

When did your daughter sign the lease and when did you execute the guaranty?

 

[dorndawg]

Do you have a copy of the lease? Definitely read that and be familiar with it; it very likely has provisions for when lease needs to be broken. Call up the landlord (politeness at first can go a long ways) and see what's what. Certainly, offering to line up a sublet could be the solution. Like an earlier poster said, landlords are getting creative just like the rest of us. Good luck.

 

[DudyDog]

When did your daughter sign the lease and when did you execute the guaranty?

October 2019

 

[Shmuley]

The lease may have force majeure language that applies, although most force majeure provisions do not provide rent payment relief even where a triggering event has occurred (war, insurrection, riot, act of god, etc., etc.). This is especially true for lease forms put together by legal counsel for sophisticated corporate landlords.

More than likely, your best bet is to alert the landlord immediately, in writing, that, due to the wuhan, [daughter] will not occupy the space and that they may retain any deposit funds as liquidated damages. The landlord might take that offer and stand down. In my opinion, there is some safety in numbers here as it relates to predatory, corporate landlords. Think Serengeti. You guys are part of the wildebeest herd. The landlord is a cheetah. Very few wildebeests are getting taken because there are so many of those 17ers. Similarly, there are many renters looking to get out of leases. The cheetahs are only going to predate a few. So, offer the deposit and slip away while they're eyeing a softer, slower, older, sickly victim.

 

[MadDawg.sixpack]

Ok guys; need some direction here. Have an apartment lease for first semester from August thru December coming up.

Because of the virus, daughter has decided to transfer to a college where she can live at home and commute to daily.

I know this is not a great reason to try and get out of a lease, but in her mind it is what she feels comfortable with, and she is truly doing it because of the virus. What do you think my chances are of getting out of the lease due to this? Any suggestions on how to go about it? I know I just need to be honest about it and tell them this is why. Thanks in advance.

If you are dealing with an individual vs. a management company or complex, you will have a lot better luck. Last thing they want to do is sue someone over a lease. Having said that, if anyone knows someone (female) looking for a room for the next school year, we've got one available since we just let someone out of a lease.