Lawyer needed re need to exit lease issue new job

Why are you leaving NY? I'm not sure we can endorse that.

Do you want to pay a lawyer to get free message board advice?

My free message board advice is: Your lease is an agreement for you to pay the rent until the end of the lease term. The LL has no obligations to relinquish you from this obligation, no matter how crafty your, or your lawyer's, letter is…

Post the response here if you want further analysis….

https://twitter.com/SMTSay

Yeah, why incur even more cost by hiring a lawyer when you have zero legal recourse? Bottom line, your contract binds you to your lease. You are responsible to pay for the full lease period whether you continue to live in the unit or not. It makes no difference whether you've gotten a job transfer. Unless you included a rider in your lease that addresses that potential issue you are SOL.

Your best (and only) bet is to try to reason with the landlord; throwing an attorney in his face will only piss him off. The landlord holds all the cards. That's the simple fact. It's up to him to decide whether or not he wants to be a nice guy and let you out of your lease early. If you act like a demanding jerk he'll be a jerk too.

You can offer to find a replacement tenant and forfeit your entire deposit. But the landlord can refuse. NYC laws frown on lease breaking.

The landlord can refuse but then he has to release the tenant from the lease as far as i understand it.
http://www.brickunderground.com/blog/2010/12/how_to_break_a_lease

If you used a broker, it may be worth to call them as well.

also you do not forfeit your deposit.

If you do not have a rider, than you are responsible for the rent. You do, however, have some options.

The best means of dealing with this is to talk to your landlord in a mature fashion rather than sending letter and engaging a lawyer. If it's a smaller landlord, they may allow you to break the lease with a penalty (3-months rent). If it's a large company, they may offer to look for a new tenant on your behalf, and you would be responsible for rent during the interim.

If neither of those work, you could find an acceptable tenant to take over your lease. Standard leases in NY allow a renter to assign their lease to a new tenant with the landlord's consent. The landlord cannot reasonably withhold consent or else they must assume the lease. However, landlords can reasonably withhold consent for a variety of issues (rent-income ratios, credit, employment history etc.). So you would have to find an acceptable tenant for the apartment. Good luck.

I'm no lawyer but i've seen this situation before. My understanding is that the landlord must mitigate his damages, i.e., seek to lease the place. If you are anywhere nice in Manhattan or Brooklyn, this shouldn't be an issue in this rental market and you should have minimal losses. the idea that he can sit on his butt for eight months (or however long your lease runs) and collect from you is, i believe, a misnomer.

I would welcome any attorneys to expand on my understanding of the matter.

I now see the link above addresses mitigating damages and changes to the law in that area, but also notes that if YOU find a reasonable tenant (shouldn't be hard; who wouldn't want a no-fee apt) the landlord must, in most cases, accept.

FROM THE NYC RENT GUIDELINES BOARD:

What are my options if I want to get out of my lease early?

First, ask your landlord if s/he will let you out of the lease. Landlords are sometimes willing to accept vacancies - especially if it will lead to a rent increase.

If your landlord refuses to let you out, you can ask the landlord if you can "assign" the lease. This means that you would have to find a new tenant. The landlord can refuse to do so, but if his/her refusal is unreasonable s/he must release you from the lease in thirty days upon your request.

For more information see the "Subletting and Assigning Leases" section of the NY State Attorney General's Tenant's Rights Guide.

Generally speaking, if you break your lease the landlord can claim part or all of your security deposit for "unpaid rent." S/he could also go to court to enforce the terms of the lease (i.e., ask you to pay additional rent until a new tenant is found). Under current rulings, landlords have no duty to promptly re-rent the apartment.

SO, "no duty to re-rent" and you must prove the landlord is "unreasonable" in refusing your tenant. AND YES he can claim all or part of your deposit.

http://www.nycrgb.org/html/resources/faq/leases.html#options

i just broke a lease. My LL offered to allow me choices:

to walk away for equiv of 2 months rent,
for me to sublet the apt, while being ultimtely responsible for the lease,
for me to find a new tenant with whom they would sign a new lease, where i would be charged a 500$ transfer fee..

I took the last choice and had a worthy new tenant in 3 days.

More reason that it's important to get a good deal when renting.

A tenant may not assign the lease without the landlord’s written consent. The landlord may withhold consent without cause. If the landlord reasonably refuses consent, the tenant cannot assign and is not entitled to be released from the lease. If the landlord unreasonably refuses consent, the tenant is entitled to be released from the lease within 30 days from the date the request was given to the landlord. Real Property Law § 226-b(1).

Tenants with leases who live in buildings with four or more apartments have the right to sublet with the landlord’s advance consent. Any lease provision restricting a tenant’s right to sublease is void as a matter of public policy. If the landlord consents to the sublet, the tenant remains liable to the landlord for the obligations of the lease, including all future rent. If the landlord denies the sublet on reasonable grounds, the tenant cannot sublet and the landlord is not required to release the tenant from the lease. If the landlord denies the sublet on unreasonable grounds, the tenant may sublet anyway. If a lawsuit results, the tenant may recover court costs and attorney’s fees if a judge rules that the landlord denied the sublet in bad faith. Real Property Law § 226-b(2).

>More reason that it's important to get a good deal when renting.

Because otherwise renting is a bad idea?