Q The ownership changed at the property I have been renting for almost two years. The new landlord made me sign a new, 13-month lease. I thought it would be the same as the lease with my previous landlord, which was a month-to-month lease. I signed it thinking it was the same and didn't read it carefully enough. I want to move, but I can't. There is nothing wrong with the premises, but you need to take a flight of stairs to get to my apartment. If my ankle is sprained from playing basketball, can I say that the building is not handicap accessible and end my lease early?
ATenants' attorney
Kellman replies:
A lease is a binding agreement if it correctly contains the required terms, including the rental address, parties' names, the address of the landlord to pay the rent, rental term, amount of rent, required disclosures, etc. Some leases may be lacking required items or they may have other defects. Also, they may have terms that allow for terminating the agreement. That you did not read the document before signing it will not let you out of the obligation if it turns out to be a valid lease. Lesson learned.
In the scenario you presented, all the landlord would have to do is make a reasonable accommodation for your injured condition. Also, a brief sports injury is not necessarily a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or other fair-housing law protections.
However, it is still possible to get out of the obligation without resorting to claims that may not be in good faith.
You can negotiate a buy-out price with the landlord to cancel the lease. You can present replacement tenants to the landlord by your own efforts of advertising. You may sublease or assign the lease as long as you follow the terms for that procedure contained in the lease. You may offer a move-in bonus to attract a replacement tenant.
Once you move, your landlord must try to re-rent the unit. Once it is re-rented, you are relieved of your rent obligation, although in some cases that obligation may be reasserted against you if the replacement tenants fail to pay rent during the balance of the lease term. As you can see, this can be a tricky situation. Get legal advice before acting to break the lease. Also, do not sign any further agreements regarding that lease or any lease without reading carefully.
Property manager Griswold replies:
A lease is a binding legal document that cannot be arbitrarily terminated. You failed to read the document; now that you know what it says, you want to create an excuse to get out of the lease. I think you must fulfill the terms of the lease unless the landlord voluntarily is willing to mutually terminate the lease or the landlord legitimately commits a substantial breach of the lease.
The accessibility excuse won't work in my opinion and is obviously contrived. The only way accessibility could be grounds to seek termination of the lease is if you do something drastic (break both legs, for instance) and can get a doctor to sign a letter indicating that you must move because of your disability.
You have learned that you must always read every document and fully understand it before signing. What if your landlord changed his mind and wanted to break the lease because he found a tenant who would pay more or would commit to a longer term? Should he have the right to create some excuse? Of course not.
A lease is binding upon both parties. It is very unfortunate that so many tenants fail to realize that they are making a significant financial commitment when they sign a lease and that any changes in their personal plans do not allow them to simply walk away.
Of course, if you chose to give notice and leave before the end of your lease, your landlord is legally required to mitigate or minimize your damages by attempting to re-let your rental unit, with you being responsible for the actual costs incurred as well as all rent until the re-letting of the unit or until the expiration of your lease, whichever comes first.
From a landlord's perspective, this is not an equal burden, as the landlord has to mitigate the potential damages to the tenant, but the tenant doesn't have to accommodate the landlord. For example, if a tenant gets a job transfer or finds a better rental unit down the street, the tenant can bail out on a lease at any time and the law requires the landlord to assist him in minimizing the cost. However, should a landlord suddenly receive an offer to sell his rental unit on the condition that it be vacant, the landlord can't unilaterally terminate the lease and force the tenant to immediately vacate. This is just another example of how the tenant-landlord laws actually favor tenants, but you will rarely see a tenants' rights organization or advocate acknowledge this.
This column on issues confronting tenants and landlords is written by property manager Robert Griswold and San Diego lawyers Steven R. Kellman, director of the Tenant's Legal Center, and Ted Smith, principal in a firm representing landlords. E-mail your questions to Griswold at rgriswold.inman@retodayradio.com. Questions should be brief and cannot be answered individually.
© 2005 Inman News Features
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