What if I need to break my lease early?

Getting an apartment in New York can be such a challenge that it almost seems implausible that anyone would want to break their lease. But family or medical emergencies, relationship or career changes, or other issues can arise that necessitate a move. How difficult it is to get out of your lease will depend in part on your own lease’s terms and part on your communication with the landlord.

Most leases will contain a clause that states the landlord’s official position about early termination. Some will allow an early out with 60 or even 90 days written notice. Others will require that you find a new, approvable tenant. Still others will attempt to hold you to the lease. In reality however, in the current rental market, unless you have a very undesirable unit, most landlords won’t balk at an early exit provided that you have not damaged the property and communicate with them.

Send a certified letter to your landlord

Outline your basic need for early termination. You don’t have to go into great detail, “Due to a family emergency, I need to return to Chicago to care for my mother.” Or “I am being transferred for three years to Bulgaria.”
Make sure that you include the date that you are looking to leave. If your lease says that you need to provide a 60 day notice, make sure that you reference this fact.
If your lease requires that you provide a new, approvable tenant, ask if the management company currently has a waiting list or if they work with particular brokers as this will cut down your time and responsibility immensely.

Schedule an inspection
Ask to schedule a lease end inspection to coincide with your last day. You want to ensure that you don’t lose your deposit simply because the inspection doesn’t get done when you move out.

Note: Some landlords will attempt to hold the security deposit simply because you broke the lease. If a landlord lost money due to a unit sitting empty, they are entitled to recover their losses. If someone moved in right away and they paid a deposit, the landlord is not "out" any money and can't hold your deposit.

originally posted March 10, 2007