Breaking a Sublease Agreement Under a Violation of Clauses

[Ossenova]

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Massachusetts

Hi,

As a working professional, I have mistakenly signed a sublease agreement with some inconsiderate college students who seemed okay at first but they are often loud at nights. Fortunately, the person who is subletting the room to me has written on the sublease agreement the following:

The Tenant and the Subtenant agree to the following conditions:
Respect of work/sleep schedule, advance notification of potential disturbances, cleaning will be done by tenants (but please clean up after yourself!)

The tenants (those college kids) have been loud on weeknights. On weekends, it's not even funny. They blast their music like the place just turned into a rock concert place. The tenants also smoke marijuana in the living room, which was not clearly mentioned in the contract. I'm not entirely against some people smoking marijuana but I'm just stating it here so that I can use it against if anything.

The sublease agreement says I'm living in the place from December 30th 2009 to April 25th, 2010. However, in the middle of February, I have warned the person who's subletting the room to me and the current tenants that if the situation does not get any better I will not be continuing the stay in April. Since then, the tenants behaved a little bit better than how they used to but there still have been a few nights when I could not fall asleep due to some noise. On the past weekend, they also held a massive party at the place and the music was, of course, extremely loud that it was shaking the floor. Since February 11th, I have kept a record of the noise. I also have some videos that clearly demonstrate how loud these tenants are. I have taken pictures of the living room and the kitchen sink where piles of dishes were being left out for weeks. Also, not all the parties happening at the place were notified to me in advance like the agreement says. Basically, the clause stated above has been completely and repeatedly violated. On March 13th, Saturday, I have emailed the person who's subletting to me that I cannot take this anymore and I will be moving out by the end of March. The sublease agreement was only between him and I. The actual landlord is not involved in the agreement. In this case, if I move out by the end of March (I have already found another place to live), would I be any liable for my action?

Thank you,
Katerina

[jk]

The Tenant and the Subtenant agree to the following conditions:
Respect of work/sleep schedule, advance notification of potential disturbances, cleaning will be done by tenants (but please clean up after yourself!)

so, if they tell you they are going to make noise, they have followed the terms of the agreement, right?

as to the respect of work/sleep schedules; without any other verbiage to clarify what that means and what happens if the rule is not followed, you don't really have anything there.

and the cleaning: you are a tenant. clean up the mess and that rule will have been followed. If you fail to clean up the place, you are as much in violation of that clause as the others are.

so, the worst you are going to get dinged for is apr 1- apr 25 (as long as you provide what ever notice is required per your agreement)

Your agreement doesn't really allow you much leverage as it is quit incomplete.

regardless, I would simply move and if they want money, tell them to sue you and argue it in court. If you lose, you pay them for those 3 1/2 weeks.

Oh, and unless ALL the actual tenants to the lease (not yours, the one between the college kids and their LL) are parties to your rental agreement, nobody but the one kid that signed with you is bound by your agreement. The rest of them can make all the noise and have all the parties they want and you have no recourse based on your agreement.

[Ossenova]

I am copying and pasting the agreement below that I signed. It is very informal. The agreement is actually signed by all the tenants currently living in and myself. The landlord of the place did not even see the paper. When I met him in person, he was not too aware of the situation and I had to explain to him who I am and what I am doing at the place. Then, he unenthusiastically said, "Oh, yeah I've heard from the guy about that." These kids are all friends among themselves. One of them happened to go abroad for an exchange and had to fill up his room. They clearly didn't think that an outsider would complain about their inconsiderate living habits. Also, I have cleaned every mess that I have made. There's really nothing I have violated, as far as I remember.

Sublease Contract
1. Date and Parties
This agreement, dated December 17, 2009, is between NAME REMOVED et al., hereafter called Tenants, and _____________________________, hereafter called Subtenant.

2. Rented Properties
The Tenant hereby subleases to the Subtenant the property described below, which the Tenant lawfully rents from the Owner or his Agent (hereafter called Landlord):
ADDRESS REMOVED

3. Landlord
The Owner or Agent for this property is NAME REMOVED
His address is ADDRESS REMOVED

4. Term
This sublease begins on December 30th, 2009 and ends on April 25th, 2010.

5. Rent
The Subtenant agrees to pay rent totaling $650 for this sublease. This amount should be paid in a monthly sum by the 30th of each month (to ensure prompt delivery to Landlord). The rent is to be paid to the Landlord of the house by cash or check either through online banking delivery or mailed envelope on this date of each month accompanied by email notification to Tenant for payment confirmation.

6. Further Financial Obligations
The Subtenant is asked to include the last month’s (April) rent upon initial payment for the month of January (totaling $1,300) to ensure Subtenants occupation of the room for the entirety of the agreed sublease period.
The subtenant will pay for Utilities, Internet, and Cable at a maximum monthly price of $55 per month (totaling $705 including rent). Any amount exceeding the agreed utilities price will be paid for by Tenant with no requirement from Subtenant beside notification of said excess amount.

7. Notices
Tenant agrees to forward any notices, provided to him by the Landlord, to the Subtenant.

8. Security Deposit
The Subtenant will deposit $0 with the Tenant as security for unpaid rent and/or damages caused by the Subtenant during the term of this agreement. The deposit will be retained until the termination of this sublease term or the subtenant's vacation of the premised, and the balance after damages must be returned, accompanied by a written itemization of any deductions, within 30 days afterwards, provided that the Subtenant has provided the holder with a forwarding address.

9. Tenant's Remedies
A) If the Subtenant defaults in the payment of rent, or violates any lease term, the Tenant or Landlord may give the Subtenant 15 days notice that a violation had occurred. If the Subtenant does not correct the violation or make payment of rent in this amount of time, the Tenant or Landlord may then give the Subtenant five days written notice of the termination of the agreement. At the end of that period, if the Subtenant had not vacated the premises, the Tenant or the Landlord may begin eviction procedures in Municipal Court.
B) The Subtenant is responsible for the behavior of his friends, invited guests or any other people on the premises with his permission.
C) Each Subtenant who signs this lease may be held individually responsible for any and all Subtenant liabilities, or all Subtenants may be held collectively responsible, at the option of the Tenant.
D) In the application of remedies, the Tenant had an obligation to mitigate damages.

10. Confiscation of Property
Neither party will ever have the right to secure compensation for any liability owned by the other through confiscation of property belonging to the other. Such disputes are to be settled through negotiation, arbitration, or the courts.

11. Property of Tenant
The following furniture, appliances, or other items belonging to the Tenant are permitted for use by the Subtenant:
Queen-sized bed + mattress, desk, desk chair, nightstand, lamp, curtains etc. in room, in addition to all items in common living spaces.
Subtenant is expected to return these at the end of the sublease term in essentially the same condition as they were in the beginning, taking into account normal wear and tear. If the Subtenant or his guests are responsible for damages to any or these, or if they are not returned, the tenant has the right to take compensation for such damages and to take any further legal actions necessary.

12. Additional Agreements
The Tenant and the Subtenant agree to the following conditions:
Respect of work/sleep schedule, advance notification of potential disturbances, cleaning will be done by tenants (but please clean up after yourself!)

13. Signatures
The following undersigned have agreed to be legally bound by this agreement.
Tenant Signatures: TENANTS SIGNATURES HERE

Subtenant Signature: _________________________________

Thank you!

[jk]

ok, when did you lie?

The agreement is actually signed by all the tenants currently living in and myself.

On March 13th, Saturday, I have emailed the person who's subletting to me that I cannot take this anymore and I will be moving out by the end of March. The sublease agreement was only between him and I.

on top of that; this discrepancy sure puts a problem in a claim they might make:

5. Rent
The Subtenant agrees to pay rent totaling $650 for this sublease

The Subtenant is asked to include the last month’s (April) rent upon initial payment for the month of January (totaling $1,300) to ensure Subtenants occupation of the room for the entirety of the agreed sublease period.

you were only bound to pay a total of $650. The rent is not stated as a monthly payment and to support that, under rent, it states "rent totaling $650 for this sublease". The sublease is for the time of Dec 30- Apr 25 and the section title rent states the total amount is $650. I understand it is likely a mistake but you wanted things to capitalize on. There you go.

but you still have no real claim about the cleaning. It states tenants will clean. You are a tenant. Clean.

It never states which tenants will clean or if any are truly required to. Tenants will clean can easily be construed that a maid service will not be hired for the cleaning. It never states what level of cleanliness must be maintained.

respect of schedule/work?

Ok, what does that mean?

I have no real idea. It places no rules or constraints on anything.

and the third one in that group: that is about the only one that might get you out. How much notice or how notice is provided is not specified though.



so, even if you believe you have just cause for terminating the lease, all you can do is give notice and leave. If they want to sue you, there is nothing to prevent that.

[Ossenova]

Okay, I have mis-stated that. I apologize.

That is an interesting point that you made. However, doesn't the following sentence clear it though?
This amount should be paid in a monthly sum by the 30th of each month (to ensure prompt delivery to Landlord).

So basically the entire sublease agreement is so vague that nothing is really specified and I cannot really use any of that to justify the termination of the sublease. In the end, what you're saying is, it is my own luck whether I get sued or not. I will be out of the country by April 25th. Does suing take only a few days to happen or would I be out of it by the time they get their acts together?

[jk]

that is why I said it is most likely a mistake

This amount should be paid in a monthly sum by the 30th of each month (to ensure prompt delivery to Landlord).

so I read that as I divy up the $650 to a monthly amount and that is what is required each month. How am I to know anything different?

when I have a contract for some period of time and it clearly states:

the Subtenant agrees to pay rent totaling $650 for this sublease.

especially since it used the term "totaling", it would appear to be a cumulative total. Why would anybody use a term such as "totaling $650 monthly"? What is there to total. The other financial issues were dealt with elsewhere.

Leases often list a complete term total and then break that down into a monthly payment as the contract is for the total amount of the lease, not the monthly payments. The monthly payments are merely an agreed upon breakdown of installments being paid towards the total.

If nothing else, maybe you can use it to BS your way out of the lease.

[Ossenova]

So in this case, should I even point it out to the subletter now, or only mention it if he likes to take some legal actions against me. How would I be notified if I'm sued if they have no contact information of me except the email address and my work address. I suppose they could call my work.