Daughter afraid - need advice

dodgersmom
Tue, 11 Dec 2012 01:08:12 +0000

No - I don’t think she’d be liable for the whole remainder of the lease term. The most they can do is keep her deposit. That’s what they do when a lease is broken - keep the deposit.



That’s flat out incorrect. A lease is an agreement to pay (in this case) 8 more months of rent. If the OP’s D moves out prior, she is liable for that entire balance. However, the landlord is legally obligated to mitigate his damages. That means that he has to make a good faith attempt to get a replacement tenant. Once he succeeds, then the OP’s D is off the hook, starting from the time the new tenant starts paying rent.

Unless there’s something quite unusual about this apartment, or the community where it’s located, I can’t imagine there would be a problem finding a new tenant. It could likely be accomplished within a few weeks. So the OP’s daughter would be out a month’s rent. This is NOT a reason to stay in an apartment that’s become unsafe.

And it’s all well and good to wonder if the guy who sent the letter is maybe just lonely, socially inept, and harmless . . . but the OP’s daughter has to be able to sleep at night! Enough is enough . . . if she’s scared to go home, then she needs to find a new place to live.

And, no, she doesn’t have to tell the landlord anything until after she’s moved out.