News
12-11-2006, 10:00 PM
A New Job -- Even With a Long Commute -- Doesn't Excuse You From a Lease
By Robert Griswold, Steven R. Kellman and Ted Smith
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Q: I am in a lease for at least seven more months, but the distance to my new job is killing me. Is there a way to terminate the lease because I work almost one hour away from home? I think the Internal Revenue Service has some regulations about distance to a new job and moving. I would let the landlord keep the security deposit if I could move out and not owe the remaining balance.
A: Property manager Griswold replies:
Your new job and longer commute don't provide a legal basis for you to terminate the lease. While the IRS has certain distance or other tests for determining the tax ramifications of moving associated with a job change, there are no such legal bases for getting out of a legally binding residential lease.
You should carefully review your lease and see if there is an early termination clause that would allow you to unilaterally terminate the lease on certain conditions, such as a forfeiture of your security deposit or an early termination fee. Early termination clauses are not common, though. Your best bet probably will be to contact the owner or property manager and explain your situation, then work with that person to locate a qualified tenant who would be willing to lease your apartment.
Your situation, in which a change in personal circumstances requires relocation, is common. It is not a problem if you are on a month-to-month rental agreement. However, many tenants would rather have the stability and fixed rent offered by a long-term lease. Often landlords will even offer a slightly lower or discounted monthly rent for tenants who sign long-term leases.
My experience is that many tenants fail to realize that a lease is a legally binding contract in which the tenant is also offering the landlord the stability of a long-term tenancy. The lease works for tenants and landlords until the tenant unexpectedly has a change in employment location, a loss of income or a problem with other occupants of the rental property. When life happens and the situation changes so that the current rental property no longer meets their needs, some tenants look back and realize they would have been better served by the flexibility of a month-to-month rental.
Also, there are landlords who have a change in their personal circumstances and need suddenly to move into the property for their own housing or need to sell the property only to learn that the lease must be honored. Both tenants and landlords must realize that a lease should be used only when a mutual long-term tenancy is desirable and can be honored.
This column on issues confronting tenants and landlords is written by property manager Robert Griswold and San Diego lawyers Steven R. Kellman, director of the Tenant's Legal Center, and Ted Smith, principal in a firm representing landlords. E-mail your questions to Griswold atrgriswold.inman@retodayradio.com. Questions should be brief and cannot be answered individually.
© 2006 Inman News Features
By Robert Griswold, Steven R. Kellman and Ted Smith
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Q: I am in a lease for at least seven more months, but the distance to my new job is killing me. Is there a way to terminate the lease because I work almost one hour away from home? I think the Internal Revenue Service has some regulations about distance to a new job and moving. I would let the landlord keep the security deposit if I could move out and not owe the remaining balance.
A: Property manager Griswold replies:
Your new job and longer commute don't provide a legal basis for you to terminate the lease. While the IRS has certain distance or other tests for determining the tax ramifications of moving associated with a job change, there are no such legal bases for getting out of a legally binding residential lease.
You should carefully review your lease and see if there is an early termination clause that would allow you to unilaterally terminate the lease on certain conditions, such as a forfeiture of your security deposit or an early termination fee. Early termination clauses are not common, though. Your best bet probably will be to contact the owner or property manager and explain your situation, then work with that person to locate a qualified tenant who would be willing to lease your apartment.
Your situation, in which a change in personal circumstances requires relocation, is common. It is not a problem if you are on a month-to-month rental agreement. However, many tenants would rather have the stability and fixed rent offered by a long-term lease. Often landlords will even offer a slightly lower or discounted monthly rent for tenants who sign long-term leases.
My experience is that many tenants fail to realize that a lease is a legally binding contract in which the tenant is also offering the landlord the stability of a long-term tenancy. The lease works for tenants and landlords until the tenant unexpectedly has a change in employment location, a loss of income or a problem with other occupants of the rental property. When life happens and the situation changes so that the current rental property no longer meets their needs, some tenants look back and realize they would have been better served by the flexibility of a month-to-month rental.
Also, there are landlords who have a change in their personal circumstances and need suddenly to move into the property for their own housing or need to sell the property only to learn that the lease must be honored. Both tenants and landlords must realize that a lease should be used only when a mutual long-term tenancy is desirable and can be honored.
This column on issues confronting tenants and landlords is written by property manager Robert Griswold and San Diego lawyers Steven R. Kellman, director of the Tenant's Legal Center, and Ted Smith, principal in a firm representing landlords. E-mail your questions to Griswold atrgriswold.inman@retodayradio.com. Questions should be brief and cannot be answered individually.
© 2006 Inman News Features