Questions and Professional Answers

• Does a self-renewing lease mean I have to sign a new lease?

  I am in a 1 year lease that ends in a couple of months. The lease states, "This is a self extending lease. Sixty days written notice effective the first of the month is required to terminate the lease." I have been sent a new lease with much higher rent. Assuming there were no other provisions in my current lease saying that I must sign a different lease in order to renew, does the current lease remain in effect? The new lease has an added section saying that I have to sign any new leases I receive, but the old one says nothing about that.

  • Re: Does a self-renewing lease mean I have to sign a new lease?

    You need to take your old lease and the new one to an attorney, and get them to review both documents and give you advise on your legal options. There are many other clauses that may or may not be in the original contract, which would totally change the answer to your question.You should also carefully think about what you want to do in terms of remaining a tenant. The attorney can help you figure out the best way to stay, if that is what you want to do, or to leave, if that is your wish. You must realize that if you do not sign on for a new lease, the landlord can give you notice and then evict you. How much notice, and how it is given, is something the attorney you see can tell you.

    Thomas Workman
    Law Offices of Thomas Workman
    41 Harrison Street, Taunton, MA
    Taunton, MA 02780

  • Re: Does a self-renewing lease mean I have to sign a new lease?

    When your landlord sent you the new lease, did he he tell you that he was not renewing the old lease explicitly?If he merely mailed you a new lease (or you received it after the final 60-day period had started), he may have made a big mistake and the old lease should self-extend. If it self-extends, depending upon how it's worded, it is probably for another year and it might be for the OLD RENT RATE! The landlord could not evict you for nonpayment of the new rent if that's the case. But you need to have it reviewed SOOON.If you want, fax me the old lease and whatever notice(s) you received, to (617)527-1763. I'm about to take a vacation so do it soon or don't expect an answer from me until about the 4th of the month. (If you don't hear from me by the 1st, go see another attorney who practices landlord / tenant law in your area.)In general, to answer your question, a self-renewing lease doesn't mean you have to sign a new lease. Also, I've never seen such a clause as the one you say is in the new lease and I'd like to have you fax that page to me, please. If it's not very very clear about the possible changes in the new lease that you would be required, it is probably an invalid (unenforceable) clause. Why? Because it doesn't make sense that someone could agree to agree upon an unseen lease and that someone else could enforce that. But if the new lease says that the subsequent lease you're agreeing in advance to sign would only change certain terms, it's possible ... but I still doubt it.Write to me directly if you like, but SOON!!! -- lawyer@mediaone.net ...

    Stuart Williams
    Law Offices of Stuart J. Williams
    PRACTICE CLOSED
    Newton, MA 00000

  • Re: Does a self-renewing lease mean I have to sign a new lease?

    Just noticed more carefully what you wrote ... note that self-renewing is not the same as self-extending.I'd have to see the leases for myself ...

    Stuart Williams
    Law Offices of Stuart J. Williams
    PRACTICE CLOSED
    Newton, MA 00000

• Breaking a Lease agreement

  We are 3 months into our lease of 12 months and there is a house we'd like to purchase. What is basically holding us back is our apartment and its lease. We have a copy of the lease and in it there is no ''Break Lease Clause'' laid out with penalties and such for breaking the lease. We contacted the landlord and he informed us that there is no ''Break Lease Clause'' anywhere in the lease or written up by the Management corporation. If we break this lease do they have grounds to make us continue to pay our lease? Also, if we don't pay what will happen.

  • Re: Breaking a Lease agreement

    If you break such a lease as you describe, ordinarily you are liable for the rent until the landlord finds a new renter for that unit. If the complex has lots of vacant apartments, you could have a problem, since the landlord has no obligation to rent your place out first.It might be a good idea to look for a subtenant. A sublease would ordinarily require approval by the landlord, but if you could get that the problem would be solved.This response is for general purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship.

    David Kelly-952-544-6356
    Kelly Law Office
    10709 Wayzata Blvd. #205
    Minnetonka, MN 55305

• Lease Agreement

  We signed a rental lease with an apartment complex for a 9 month duration. We broke the lease because we moved out early (with ~4 months remaining). A clause in the lease stated that we would be held financially responsible for the entire worth of the lease until our lease period was completed. If the apartment complex was able to re-lease the apartment to someone else, then we would be responsible for the differential between our monthly lease value and the new lease value (assuming the new lease was less, which it was by ~$150). My question is whether this practice is legal and do we have any recourse against the apartment complex?

  • Re: Lease Agreement

    Yes, it certainly is legal. You signed a contract (the lease) which had provisions you knew would be triggered in the event of your breaching the contract, i.e., "breaking the lease"; if you did not want to be liable for the entire term of the lease, you should not have entered into the contract, or you should not have breached it once you did.

    Judith Deming
    Deming & Associates
    5334 E. Chapman Avenue, Suite 100
    Orange, CA 932869

  • Re: Lease Agreement

    Yes, this is legal, assuming the lower rent to the new tenant reflects true market conditions (which it very well may). The landlord's damages for breach of lease are limited to actual losses incurred despite reasonable attempts to mitigate. You may be lucky you weren't also dinged for advertising, tenant-screening, etc. costs. If rents were climbing instead of declining, you might have escaped liability altogether under the formula. Unfortunately, you picked the wrong time to abandon ship.

    Bryan Whipple
    Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law
    P O Box 318
    Tomales, CA 94971-0318

• Apartment Lease

  I currently am in a 1yr lease with my roommate (both names on the lease), in our Manhattan aparmtent. I need to leave the state due to educational relocation. In my lease it states we can't sublet. Is there any way to change the terms on my lease? If I violated the term on the lease, and my landlord was still being paid, what would I be facing legally if caught? Thank You.

  • Re: Apartment Lease

    A lease can legally prohibit subleasing. If you violate the terms you can be evicted.Should you like to discuss this or any other legal matter, you can e-mail me for more information about low cost face-to-face, on-line, or a telephone consultation with a lawyer in our office.

    Stephen Loeb
    Law Office of Stephen R. Loeb
    75 Maiden Lane, Suite 339
    New York, NY 10038

• House Lease

  We signed a lease with an option to buy on a house in August. Our financial sitation has changed and we are struggling to make the lease payment. We are also very unsure as to whether we'll be able to afford to buy the house when our lease is up (August 2009). Our lease agreement says that by breaking the lease, we are accountable for ''the lost lease revenue vs. the original lease + a fee of $925 (equal to 1 month rent) as an early termination fee''. What does this mean?

  • Re: House Lease

    It means the landlord doesn't want you to breach the lease.Under Missouri law, a landlord cannot be punitive. He can't lease you a house for 12 months, and if you break the lease in the 2nd month, say "okay, I want the other 10 months rent." Instead he has to "mitigate damages." He does this by reletting the property. Under MO law he can properly charge you for the cost of reletting (newspaper advertisement, carpet cleaning, etc.) and if he is forced to relet at a lower sum (let's say, $900), he can ding you for the extra $25 a month for ten months. If he rents it for more than that, he doesn't have to credit you with the increase. I am not sure the termination of lease fee is lawful since it would appear to be a penalty, and penalties are not favored under MO law. It is doubtful it is what lawyers call a liquidated damages clause either. But a court might still enforce it.Your best bet is to go to the landlord, explain your situation, and give them the longest notice you can. Ask for them to waive the fees and assist them in getting the property relet before you move. If you do this and they still attempt to enforce the fee, you have a better equitable position in front of a judge to argue that the fee should not apply because it is a penalty, and you have done everything properly.Good luck.

    Anthony DeWitt
    Bartimus, Frickleton Robertson & Gorny, PC
    715 Swifts Highway
    Jefferson City, MO 65109

• Broken Lease question

  We signed a lease in August which states that our security deposit can be taken if we break the lease. We have since moved out (broken the lease), and the landlord now claims that he can continue to charge us rent until the end of the lease term. This is NOT stated in the lease, but he claims it is implicit in signing a lease. We want to know if this is true.

  • Re: Broken Lease question

    The landlord is correct the lease is your promise to rent the property for the specified time for the specified rent. You are liable for the rent for the entire term of the lease.The landlord must attempt to reduce damages by renting the apartment as soon as possible. You would be liable for the unpaid rent plus the costs incurred in re-renting the apartment.There may be some defenses that you have to breaking the lease. You should contact an attorney and discuss the circumstances of the the breaking the lease.

    Lyle Johnson
    Lyle W. Johnson Attorney at Law
    152 N. Third Street, Suite 510
    San Jose, CA 95112

• house lease agreement

  I had a 12 month lease that ended the end of July. The lease stated that I had to give 60 days notice that I would renew, which I stated I would. I did not receive the new lease until the 2nd week of August and the lease had changed, i.e. higher rentkeeping 50% of deposit instead of 25% etc. I made a few notes on the lease but signed it. The landlord stated that this lease was void and I either sign as is or get out. He became threatening and being a single mother of 3 I decided to not sign. The original lease stated that I would pay $100 dollars a day if my lease had expired however had I of known that this lease had been changed I would have been out. He is calling threatning me and wanting to take me to court. What are my rights

  • Re: house lease agreement

    Your post is far from clear, but it appears you failed to provide timely notice under the contract and other provisions kicked in during the additional months. The fact that you made assumptions about a new lease that was never executed does not change the terms of the old lease that was executed (absent the landlord waiving the provision, which you did not mention). You could have still provided notice while negotiating a new lease.

    Scott Riddle
    Scott B. Riddle, Attorney
    Suite 3250 One Atlantic Center, 1201 West Peachtree St., NW
    Atlanta, GA 30309

• Breaking a month to month lease

  We have been living in our apartment for going on 5 years now. We signed a 1 year lease when we first moved which became a month to month lease thereafter. In the original lease the landlord put a clause that tenants can not move out between the months of November and March. Can this be enforced on a month to month lease? If yes, doesn't that make it a 5 month lease, instead of a month to month lease? We are in the process of buying a house and don't want to get stuck paying on this lease. Also, our landlord has been negligent in repairing our ailing appliances. Could this be used to get us out of our lease? Thanks!

  • Re: Breaking a month to month lease

    I do not believe these provisions could apply to a month to month lease.Should you like to discuss this or any other legal matter you can e-mail me for more information about low cost face-to-face, on-line or a telephone consultation with a lawyer in our office.

    Stephen Loeb
    Law Office of Stephen R. Loeb
    75 Maiden Lane, Suite 339
    New York, NY 10038

• Did not recieve copy of lease

  I signed a lease for an appartment in mid-september, and took possession on Oct. 1st. It is a 1 year lease.I still have not recieved a copy of the written lease that I requested.A, in NY are the landlords required to furbish a copy of the lease within a time frame of say, 10 days?and b, if they do not, does that allow me legal ways to terminate the lease? It is now November 03rd and still no copy of my lease.thanks.

  • Re: Did not recieve copy of lease

    There is no law that speaks to a time frame of when a signed lease should be returned however a lease is considered effective upon the payment and acceptance of rent. Should you like to discuss this or any other legal matter, you can e-mail me for more information about low cost face-to-face, on-line, or a telephone consultation with a lawyer in our office.

    Stephen Loeb
    Law Office of Stephen R. Loeb
    75 Maiden Lane, Suite 339
    New York, NY 10038

• Lease Expiration

  I signed a year lease with a roommate. On the lease it states that the lease is from 8/30/02 until 8/31/02. Both the tenant(me) and the landlord understand that the lease was supposed to be until 8/31/03. The landlord does not know of the typo yet. If I would like to break the lease, could I?

  • Re: Lease Expiration

    The law regarding typographical errors in instruments such as leases favors judicial correction of them, if they are clearly what the law calls "scrivener's errors." A scrivener is someone in the role of a clerk or stenographer who is employed to write down the results of a negotiation but does not participate as a principal.Further, Civil Code section 1640 provides "When, through fraud, mistake, or accident, a written contract fails to express the real intention of the parties, such intention is to be regarded, and the erroneous parts of the writing disregarded."Since a one-day lease is highly improbable, a court would doubtless enforce the lease as a one-year lease (or year-and-a-day lease) and disregard the error.

    Bryan Whipple
    Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law
    P O Box 318
    Tomales, CA 94971-0318