Renting Arizona RES
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Breaking A Lease
When you moved into the apartment, you signed a formal contact. Breaking a lease (contract) can be a very expensive procedure. Here are the "normal' steps involved in breaking a lease (Please keep in mind that I am not a lawyer. When considering contacting a lawyer if you need legal advice).
1 - You will need to give the apartment either a 30 or 60 day WRITTEN notice that you will be vacating the apartment. You will be responsible to pay the rent for this period of time.
2 - Pay a lease break fee. Many apartment leases will have a specific lease break fee. This can be a specific amount (ex. $1000.00) or it can a fee equal to anywhere from one to two times the rental amount
3 -
Pay back any incentives(specials) received. If you received an intial incentive when you move in (ex. one month free) you will be required to pay the free month back. Also if you received a special where the rent is discounted every month, you will need to pay the amount that the rent was reduced for every month you lived there.
Pay back any incentives(specials) received. If you received an intial incentive when you move in (ex. one month free) you will be required to pay the free month back. Also if you received a special where the rent is discounted every month, you will need to pay the amount that the rent was reduced for every month you lived there.4 - You may also have to forfeit your security deposit.
Example. Maria moved in Jan 1st and signed a 12 month lease. With a 12 month lease the apartment offered a special of one month free PLUS a monthly discount of $50 off of the normal rent of $850 making the rent now $800. The apartment requires a 60 day notice and charges a lease break fee of $1000. On July 1st Maria decided that she needed to break her lease and she was moving out on July 31st . She notified the manager IN WRITING that she needed to break the lease and would be moving July 31st. In this case Maria could be responsible for the following items
A – She would be responsible to pay back the free month of rent she received - $800
B – She would have lived in the apartment for seven months (Jan to July) – She would have to pay back $50.00 per month for the discounted rent she received.- $350
C - She only gave a 30 days notice instead of the 60 day notice she was responsible to do. She will be responsible for August's rent- $850.
D - Maria would also be responsible for the Lease break Fee – In this case we will say it was $1000.
Maria would have to pay $800 + $350 + $850 + $1000 = $3,000!!!
Some apartments may give you the option of continuing to pay the rent until the apartment is re-rented.
