I am currently renting an apartment in Ga. The lease is for 1 yr. I never was given a copy of our lease when we moved in. I am needing to break my lease and move back home for financial reasons. I am concerned what is the worse that could happen to me. I cant get any answers from them because all they say is I signed a yr lease. HELP
A lease can be broken if the landlord agrees to allow you to break the lease.
Landlords usually do this for a fee.
If they agree to the lease being broken, get the agreement as an addendum to the lease in writing, signed by all parties to the lease.
Before you do that, however, ask the landlord for a copy of the lease you are alleged to have signed.
Read the lease, as it might have provisions for breaking it.
You can just walk away form the lease.
If you do that, expect to lose your deposit at a minimum.
Some landlords will file suit against you for the balance of the lease, less what they can mitigate by finding a new tenant.
In this economy, you could get stuck with owing the remainder of the lease.
If you are sued, it will impact your credit.
However, if you move out of state, it'll be very hard for the landlord to collect on the judgment.
It is sometimes impossible.
But, you can expect negative report to show on your credit record.
You can also expect your ability to ever rent again to be severely impacted.
In fact, some people report never being able to rent after such an occurrence.