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My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Texas
I will need to break my lease soon due to job insecurities, and asked my landlord what the cost would be, If I understood it correctly, breaking my lease would result in me paying around $9000 without giving a 60 day notice. Paying that much seems like extortion, however understanding the terminology referenced in the lease agreement can be difficult. What are some options/advice that could help me work things out?
Can you post the exact wording of your lease agreement that speaks to this? (leaving out any identifiable information)
Probably doesn't matter what the lease says.
The landlord is blowing smoke in an attempt to scare you.
Texas landlord tenant statute 91.006 requires a landlord to mitigate his damages (and any lease provision to the contrary is unenforceable):
http://law.justia.com/codes/texas/20...-8/chapter-91/
That statute is in Chapter 91 which is "generally applicable to landlords and tenants" and is not contradicted by the residential statute Chapter 92:
http://law.justia.com/codes/texas/20...-8/chapter-92/
Mitigation requires that you abandon the unit which means that you pack up, leave, and return the keys to the landlord. That starts the clock running on the mitigation requirement.
If the landlord sues you for the balance of the lease, you raise mitigation as an affirmative defense and he will have to show that he made reasonable efforts to re-rent as soon as possible.
Chances are, however, that without any income from the rental unit, he will re-rent as soon as possible anyway, just out of financial self-preservation and then come after you for the unpaid rent for that period.