My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Texas.
I live in an apartment complex in Texas. I am 42, my wife is 39, we are both on the lease. We have never been late on rent or house payments in our entire life. It follows that we are not currently late or behind on rent.
I am trying to break my lease because I have become unemployed as of today. I notified the apartment complex two weeks ago, when I first became aware of my layoff, and told them that I would be laid off today (July 24th) and that because I do not have the money I need to stay in the apartment, I would be moving, out of state (better job opportunities), to look for work, and to live in a place that I can afford. I told them that I would be moving out mid August and would be willing to pay them for the prorated month of August and for any damages (the time that the unit was not rented out) and for reletting fees, etc. I did make it clear that I could not immediately pay for any of these things other than the prorated rent because of my unexpected financial situation. I asked them if they would be willing to negotiate with me on these terms considering I was always a good tenant. They gave me the following three options.
1) You put in a 60 day notice, pay rent those 60 days, and pay a two month lease break fee within 7 days of providing your notice to vacate.
2) Pay an 85% reletting fee plus you'll be on the hook until your lease ends for rent each month or until the home leases. (This can take days or months and is a risky route)
3) Lastly, finding someone to take over your lease. I suggest you look on Craigslist and Facebook for prospects. They must pass our screening and financially qualify. We can add them on as your new "roommates" then turn around on-the-spot and sign you off. Keep in mind they'll need to earn 3x monthly rent and you'll be signing over all deposits to the new roommates when you sign yourself off the lease.
Option 1 does not work at all as we must leave mid August. Option 2 we can't afford. Option 3 we are trying, but still have not found anyone with only a week left before August 1st, which is when rent is do, and they stated that they will not accept a prorated payment, only a full one, and if we fail to pay full, they will start the eviction process.
Since time is running out on option 3, we have been reading over the lease and came across the following which could get us out of the lease IF it covers the scenario of them coming out multiple times to fix a repair request but failed each time. We have requested 3 or 4 times for them to repair kitchen counters and caulking around the tub, but each time they come out, they make and attempt to fix it, tell us it's fixed, but it never is fixed. Does this count for the remedy below??
31.2 Your Remedies. If we violate any of the above, you may
possibly terminate this Lease and exercise other reme-
dies under Texas Property Code Sec. 92.056 by following
this procedure:
(a) all rent must be current, and you must make a writ-
ten request for repair or remedy of the condition—after
which we’ll have a reasonable time for repair or remedy;
(b) if we fail to do so, you must make a second written re-
quest for the repair or remedy (to make sure that there
has been no miscommunication between us)—after
which we’ll have a reasonable time to repair or rem-
edy; and
(c) if the repair or remedy still hasn’t been accomplished
within that reasonable time period, you may immediate-
ly terminate this Lease by giving us a final written notice.
You also may exercise other statutory remedies, includ-
ing those under Texas Property Code sec. 92.0561.
I live in an apartment complex in Texas. I am 42, my wife is 39, we are both on the lease. We have never been late on rent or house payments in our entire life. It follows that we are not currently late or behind on rent.
I am trying to break my lease because I have become unemployed as of today. I notified the apartment complex two weeks ago, when I first became aware of my layoff, and told them that I would be laid off today (July 24th) and that because I do not have the money I need to stay in the apartment, I would be moving, out of state (better job opportunities), to look for work, and to live in a place that I can afford. I told them that I would be moving out mid August and would be willing to pay them for the prorated month of August and for any damages (the time that the unit was not rented out) and for reletting fees, etc. I did make it clear that I could not immediately pay for any of these things other than the prorated rent because of my unexpected financial situation. I asked them if they would be willing to negotiate with me on these terms considering I was always a good tenant. They gave me the following three options.
1) You put in a 60 day notice, pay rent those 60 days, and pay a two month lease break fee within 7 days of providing your notice to vacate.
2) Pay an 85% reletting fee plus you'll be on the hook until your lease ends for rent each month or until the home leases. (This can take days or months and is a risky route)
3) Lastly, finding someone to take over your lease. I suggest you look on Craigslist and Facebook for prospects. They must pass our screening and financially qualify. We can add them on as your new "roommates" then turn around on-the-spot and sign you off. Keep in mind they'll need to earn 3x monthly rent and you'll be signing over all deposits to the new roommates when you sign yourself off the lease.
Option 1 does not work at all as we must leave mid August. Option 2 we can't afford. Option 3 we are trying, but still have not found anyone with only a week left before August 1st, which is when rent is do, and they stated that they will not accept a prorated payment, only a full one, and if we fail to pay full, they will start the eviction process.
Since time is running out on option 3, we have been reading over the lease and came across the following which could get us out of the lease IF it covers the scenario of them coming out multiple times to fix a repair request but failed each time. We have requested 3 or 4 times for them to repair kitchen counters and caulking around the tub, but each time they come out, they make and attempt to fix it, tell us it's fixed, but it never is fixed. Does this count for the remedy below??
31.2 Your Remedies. If we violate any of the above, you may
possibly terminate this Lease and exercise other reme-
dies under Texas Property Code Sec. 92.056 by following
this procedure:
(a) all rent must be current, and you must make a writ-
ten request for repair or remedy of the condition—after
which we’ll have a reasonable time for repair or remedy;
(b) if we fail to do so, you must make a second written re-
quest for the repair or remedy (to make sure that there
has been no miscommunication between us)—after
which we’ll have a reasonable time to repair or rem-
edy; and
(c) if the repair or remedy still hasn’t been accomplished
within that reasonable time period, you may immediate-
ly terminate this Lease by giving us a final written notice.
You also may exercise other statutory remedies, includ-
ing those under Texas Property Code sec. 92.0561.
Breaking a Lease: Issues Get Worked on but Not Fixed
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