last monts rent and breaking lease

[adamandtria]

My wife and I have been living in the same apartment in Massachusetts for 3 years. We recently bought a house, but in order to move in, we need to break our lease 2 months before it is up.

At first our landlord was very accomodating. She said that she would list the apartment right away, and hopefully someone would want to take the place for September 1st.

Since we paid last month's rent when we took the apartment, we refrained from paying rent for the month of August. Now our landlord is demanding we pay her the months rent, and she is adamant that since we are breaking the lease, the last months rent cannot be used toward August.

Is this true?

Anyone know where I can find more information on this?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

My wife and I have been living in the same apartment in Massachusetts for 3 years. We recently bought a house, but in order to move in, we need to break our lease 2 months before it is up.

At first our landlord was very accomodating. She said that she would list the apartment right away, and hopefully someone would want to take the place for September 1st.

Since we paid last month's rent when we took the apartment, we refrained from paying rent for the month of August. Now our landlord is demanding we pay her the months rent, and she is adamant that since we are breaking the lease, the last months rent cannot be used toward August.

Is this true?

Anyone know where I can find more information on this?

What information were you looking for? If you make an agreement to lease a property for a year then your leaving early would constitute a breach. It's not your landlord's responsibility to find another tenant because you decided to buy a home -- it's yours. That's what a lease is -- the same way your landlord can't dump you for a year because he found a tenant willing to pay more rent than you is the same way you can't dump your landlord early because you decided that you didn't want to live there any more. It's a month's rent and you might as well deal with it and enjoy your new house, otherwise, find a replacement tenant.