Have to Move Out Before the Lease Expires
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Illinois.
Hi everybody. I have a question and hope to get some help - any help would be really appreciated - I am from another country and lived in US only for 3 years - so, I don't know all the laws for the US. I just recently signed one year lease. I didn't plan to move out or something, but, it turned out my mother became seriously ill (she just recently had a minor stroke and constantly having high blood pressure condition, terrible headaches and difficulties in walking/moving) - she need help. We thought for some time and decided we have to leave US and go to our home country and help her - who knows how much time left for her and me together. In any case, we will have about 6-7 months left on our lease. We communicated to the landlord and told her about our situation but she doesn't want to hear anything about our difficulties and just told us we will have to pay for the rest of our lease - doesn't matter if we have a decent reason to leave the US or not. I know she will stick to her decision, but I have no ability to pay after I leave - or before - we lived from paycheck to paycheck. Could anybody give me any advice if there is an opportunity in this case to avoid paying those remaining 7 months? Any advice of handling the situation would be really appreciated.
Re: Have to Move Out Before the Lease Expires
Quote:
Quoting
spartakus
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Illinois.
Hi everybody. I have a question and hope to get some help - any help would be really appreciated - I am from another country and lived in US only for 3 years - so, I don't know all the laws for the US. I just recently signed one year lease. I didn't plan to move out or something, but, it turned out my mother became seriously ill (she just recently had a minor stroke and constantly having high blood pressure condition, terrible headaches and difficulties in walking/moving) - she need help. We thought for some time and decided we have to leave US and go to our home country and help her - who knows how much time left for her and me together. In any case, we will have about 6-7 months left on our lease. We communicated to the landlord and told her about our situation but she doesn't want to hear anything about our difficulties and just told us we will have to pay for the rest of our lease - doesn't matter if we have a decent reason to leave the US or not. I know she will stick to her decision, but I have no ability to pay after I leave - or before - we lived from paycheck to paycheck. Could anybody give me any advice if there is an opportunity in this case to avoid paying those remaining 7 months? Any advice of handling the situation would be really appreciated.
The rule in most states of the USA is that YOU ARE responsible for the remaining seven months of the lease. BUT the rules in most places also requires landlord to "mitigate" damages, so once you notify her that you have to move, it is her responsibilty to re-rent.
HOWEVER, she is not required to rush and re-rent to any homeless unemployed person coming through the door. Some tenants under your circumstances sometimes expect landlords to re-rent the place by tommorrow.
But you are responsible for the rent till she re-rents.
The sanctity of leases goes both ways. I know some landlord whose mom suddenly got sick, and needed her apartment downstairs that just got rented out so they can move her mom in. Unfortunately, the lease that made things so inconvenient for you due to your mom's sickness made it inconvenient for the owner to throw the tenant out onto the street due to her own mom's sickness.
What some people do under these circumstances is that they advertise and find new tenants for the landlord, or find tenants and have the landlords approval to sublease. I am a landlord, and tenants of mine had done so under similar circumstances. After you SIGN A LEASE, you assumed certain responsibilites which you just cannot run away from, or there is no point in signing a lease.
Good luck to you, but unfortunately, these are the rules on leases.
Re: Have to Move Out Before the Lease Expires
What a strange comparison with a landlord having to move his mother and not breaking the lease. The landlord is continuing GETTING the money from the rented apartment - he is not loosing them. It is sad that there is a tragedy in his family and such an inconvenience for him, but it's a life stress, not financial loss. In my case I have to give up a job here and the income and I have to go thousands miles away (just tickets for the family will cost a fortune). How are those two situations similar - I have no clue. It's just unfair and the landlord is showing her/his heartless nature - and that is very upsetting. I understand that it's a business for the landlord and she/he can care less - but there should be some force major exceptions in this life - not just "business" thing. We suggested some compensation to the landlord - but no luck - those businessmen just refer to the contract and don't want to care about other peoples' tragedies. I was even thinking about not returning to the US - life here is no picnic for sure - everybody is trying to get your money without any compassion and understanding. And there is no help from the authorities - but at least people don't fire their guns - thanks for that :-(
Re: Have to Move Out Before the Lease Expires
Quote:
Quoting
spartakus
What a strange comparison with a landlord having to move his mother and not breaking the lease. The landlord is continuing GETTING the money from the rented apartment - he is not loosing them. It is sad that there is a tragedy in his family and such an inconvenience for him, but it's a life stress, not financial loss. In my case I have to give up a job here and the income and I have to go thousands miles away (just tickets for the family will cost a fortune). How are those two situations similar - I have no clue. It's just unfair and the landlord is showing her/his heartless nature - and that is very upsetting. I understand that it's a business for the landlord and she/he can care less - but there should be some force major exceptions in this life - not just "business" thing. We suggested some compensation to the landlord - but no luck - those businessmen just refer to the contract and don't want to care about other peoples' tragedies. I was even thinking about not returning to the US - life here is no picnic for sure - everybody is trying to get your money without any compassion and understanding. And there is no help from the authorities - but at least people don't fire their guns - thanks for that :-(
As to the "landlord" not being to move her mom in, the law is "just as heartlesss", so what I am pointing out to you is the law goes both ways. Through the years, I have found when landlords need a favor, it's TOO BAD, but when tenants needs one, and denied, then it is considered "heartless" for the simple reason you pointed out that the landlord has the misfortune being the one "collecting the rent". So you finding the comparison strange is a typical tenant reaction.
If you read many of the posts here on why "the landlords should cancell the lease" on this board, people asked if they can cancell it because:
- I lost my job
- I got a new job out of state
- I am getting married
- I am buying a house
- I made a mistake the place is too small
- I made a mistake the place is too big for me
The list goes on and on, and in just about every case, the argument is the landlord is totally heartless to just think about his rent, and he couldn't care less about the tenant's problem.
I am just telling what the law is, and if you are telling me that any time a tenant has a reason to move, it is "heartless" to say NO, then there is no point in having a lease in the first place. The law says nothing about cancelling the lease if there was a tragedy. It is totally up to the landlord, and often the landlord is not in the best of financial condition and being NOT heartless can result in his or her going bankrupt.
Talking about financial condition, a retired landord next store to me waived the rent for a tenant for two months after the tenant lost his job. I know this tenant rather well and he was telling me he couldn't understand why other landlords are so "heartless" that they insist the rent be paid while someone is out of work.
I explained to this tenant, frankly, I am NOT financially able to carry my mortgage if I don't collect the rent from him, and I can't see why I have to starve my kids if he is out of work, as heartbreaking as it might be. Just as I expected, he found my explanation STRANGE.
Bottomline is, as strange is it may be, the law is the law, it is often "heartless", as it has to be.
Re: Have to Move Out Before the Lease Expires
its a civil matter so if you are leaving the US, just leave and post a letter during your travels out of the country explaining that you are abandoning the lease and to please accept the security deposit as compensation for any potential loses. They cannot go after you in another country..give him an address of a friend of yours in your home country .. see if he can serve you there...lol
Re: Have to Move Out Before the Lease Expires
You are right - absolutely. When so called law is working for you as a landlord, you will find all the absurd explanations to tell me that the LAW is the LAW. That's so convincing man.. Water is water, weather is weather, traffic is traffic... Great explanation man, thank you - I know see things differently :-) I see the same things in finances now - banks are getting billions of dollars to be bailed out and then saying LAW is LAW taking homes from people who might lost their jobs because of that mess banks have created. Yeah, LAW is the LAW banks are saying - let's rob those little bastards who can do nothing anyway. And the government is watching at all this for the same reason - because the LAW is the LAW - and every law was created to help rob the weakest. Nice foundation of the system. Thanks for confirming this LAW man... The more I learn about your system the more is showing its absurdity. Like those situations when hospitals taking away all peoples savings knowing those people will be dead in a few days. But what you can do - it's a LAW. Laughable...