if I have to terminate my lease due to a job relocation, what are my rights?
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if I have to terminate my lease due to a job relocation, what are my rights?
My current lease ends in 11 months with a monthly rent of $1200. Due to a job relocation, I have to terminate the lease/sublease. The landlord told me that I have to find a tenant for a 12 month lease at a market rate of $1250 in order to terminate my lease. Is the landlord legally allowed to do that? What are my rights in term of lease termination? The lease termination agreement reads:
Asked on May 25, 2017 under Real Estate Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
The fact that you have been relocated is legally irrelevant: not to be blunt, but your relocation is your concern or issue, not your landlord's, and it is not legal grounds to terminate your lease without penalty. The landlord does NOT need to let you terminate you lease early, and can refuse to let you do so until and unless you find a replacement tenant.
If you have a written lease with 11 months left on it, you are obligated to pay rent for either the remaining 11 months or until the unit is re-rented, whichever comes first. That is why you want to find a new tenant--so you are not responsible for the rent.
You don't have to find someone paying more than you--it's enough, to escape liability, to find a tenant at the comparable rent.
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