I had already told the company that manages my old apartment that I was not renewing, so they’ve been showing it. I’ve since moved out, and I had assumed I was going to be stuck paying for an empty apartment for the remainder of the lease (mid-September IIRC, which is odd given that this is in a college town where most leases align so that new students can move in before the Fall semester). They recently called to ask if I could vacate ASAP, as they’ve found someone who would like to move in right away.
On Tuesday I returned a signed form stating that the lease would end next weekend. Still haven’t gotten a copy back with their signature. :dubious:
I have a sneaking suspicion the new deal hasn’t gone through yet and they’ll try to back out of mine if it does not.
Sounds to me like they did what they were supposed to do and aren’t trying anything underhanded. You signed to pay until September. You told them/they found out your left early. You breached the contract.
Now, they have a duty to mitigate their damages and try to find another renter. If they can’t do so after a good faith effort, you are on the hook.
It sounds like they found one.
So despite you being in breach of the contract, they have found someone else to lessen their damages so you pay less than you might have. Good luck for you, good luck for them (since they don’t have to potentially sue you) and good luck for the new guy who gets your apartment.
I didn’t breach anything. They have no damages. You don’t have to live in an apartment just because you are renting it. They’re getting their money.
They asked me to scramble to get the place cleared out and cleaned much earlier than was convenient for me. That’s fine if I’m getting something out of it. If they just wanted it to look nicer for when they show it, well that’s annoying.
It certainly behooves them to find a tenant ASAP, as it’s difficult to find one there for leases starting after the beginning of the semester. The other unit sat empty for 6 months, and so did this one before I rented it.
[nitpick] It’s only a breach of contract if he fails to pay the rent - if he pays rent on an empty apartment there’s no breach. [/nitpick]
As the OP did make some noise about being stuck paying the last month’s rent presumably he was going to honor the contract. Therefore, no breach.
It is legal for the parties to a lease to agree to end it early, which is what it sounds like is occurring here. It’s up to the parties involved to negotiate an early termination.
