Difference between revisions of "Entering a Tenancy"

If you need to break a lease, be aware that you may have to pay rent until your landlord rents the place out to someone else or until the term of your lease is over. This is what a lease means, whether it is stated explicitly in the agreement or not. Many leases say that you have to pay a certain amount of money in order to get out of the lease. The amount charged to you cannot be charged as a penalty, but instead is meant to cover the landlord’s cost of re-renting the place. This amount is called "liquidated damages". A landlord cannot say that you will lose your damage deposit if you break your lease unless it is a reasonable estimate of what it will cost the landlord to re-rent the place.

* A lease that says you must move out at the end of the lease. You can only stay if you sign a new agreement with the landlord. Be careful! The new agreement does not have to contain the same terms because it is, in effect, a new tenancy. Also, rent can start at any amount because it is a new agreement.

*A lease that says you must stay for a certain length of time, but doesn't say when you must move out. This type of lease is better for tenants. With this type of lease, if you want to stay on after the lease ends and rent month-to-month you do not have to sign a newagreement. If you want to move on the date that your lease expires, you must give a full month's notice in writing to your landlord.