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I've just purchased an apartment and broken a lease, as of October 31 on a rent-stabilized apartment. The lease would have expired on December 31, 2004 and I notified the landlord of my intent to move in mid-September. There hasn't been anything said about paying until the apt is re-rented and I haven't received my security deposit back to date (of course it's only Nov 1), but I'm wondering if I can count on receiving any of my deposit? A friend told me that a lease can be broken if tenant is purchasing property, but I didn't ever find that rule in print anywhere. I inquired with NYC Housing about this, but no answer. Can you help?
- Alice Ann
We aren't aware of any rule that would allow a tenant to break the lease if purchasing property elsewhere. (In fact, someone we know recently did the same thing; she bought a house in the burbs and broke the lease on her Manhattan apartment. In her case, the management company she was leasing from was nice about it, though.)
We suggest talking it over with your landlord. Legally, he can withold your security deposit to cover the rent you would have paid for the month(s) you don't live in your apartment. Since you've already moved, there's no guarantee you'll get your deposit back.
Often, though, landlords are anxious to have apartments vacated because it means they can rent them out for more money. It may be that you won't be penalized, give that such a short amount of time is left on your lease, and that the landlord is likely anxiously trying to rent out the apartment again.
So, basically, talk to you landlord, but if you've already vacated the apartment and your landlord knows about it, don't count on getting the deposit back.
See also the Rent Guidelines Board Lease FAQ and Ask Gothamist's advice to lease breakers and what to do when you move out a month early.
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We had to take our landlord to small claims court to get our security deposit back. She (landlord) employed all kinds of trickery like punching a hole in the wall and photographing it as 'evidence.' Luckily, she was such a raving lunatic that the court saw right through her and we won. It still took until the very end of the allotted time for her to pay, and a threatening phone call about sending the sheriff for us to get a check. Good luck
You cannot break the lease. Whoever told you that rule about being able to break a lease if you purchase an apartment gave you a big piece of mis-information. Your landlord is entitled to not only the security deposit (assuming it's 1 month) for November, but to also take you to court for December. Of course if you work out an agreement that if they rent it and can recover the month that you left, they you're in the clear.
In fact, landlords of rent-stabilized apartments benefit when tenants move out early. With the same tenant, they can only raise the rent 4.5% each year. If the apartment is rented to a new tenant, they sign a vacancy lease which allows the landlord to raise the rent by a much much high percentage (I think close to 18%). So in vacating the apartment 2 months early, you've actually made your landlord money equal to ((18%-4.5%) x 2 months).
That said, you're still bound by the contract. It is likely that you'll be responsible for the rent until the landlord "covers" - that is, finds a replacement. The landlord is also able to charge you incidental expenses caused by your vacancy, ie. painting, brokers fee, etc. The best thing you can do is sit down and talk the broker and explain that they're benefitting from the new vacancy lease and if they can just let you off the hook. If that doesn't work, you can always get a subtenant in there for a couple months to cover to remainder of the lease.