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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
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    Default If You Choose Not to Move In Do You Get Your Deposit Back

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

    My partner and I signed a lease a little over a week ago for an apartment and the rental period does not start for another 3 months. In light of new and disappointing information regarding the property and the property owner learned through the current tenant, we are now concerned that we may not be happy living there and are considering to find a new place. We are wondering if it would be possible to break our lease without having to forfeit our security deposit given that (1) we are still more than 90 days out from moving in, (2) there are tenants currently contracted to live in the unit all the way until the start of our lease (leaving plenty of time to re-rent).

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
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    Default Re: Breaking Lease Before Start of Tenancy

    Legally...no.

    There are no "take backs" once a lease is signed. You can, of course, discuss with the landlord attempting to find a tenant to take your place.

    What, exactly, have you been told about the property and the property owner? Remember that one should not believe everything that someone else might tell you.

    Gail

  3. #3
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    Mar 2013
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    Default Re: Breaking Lease Before Start of Tenancy

    Quote Quoting jbmed
    View Post
    We are wondering if it would be possible to break our lease without having to forfeit our security deposit given that (1) we are still more than 90 days out from moving in, (2) there are tenants currently contracted to live in the unit all the way until the start of our lease (leaving plenty of time to re-rent).
    Perhaps.

    ARTICLE 6. LANDLORD AND TENANT.
    §37-6-6. Desertion of leased property; entry; recovery of rent, disposition of abandoned personal property; notice.

    (a) If any tenant from whom rent is in arrears and unpaid abandons the leased property, the landlord or his or her agent shall post a notice in writing in a conspicuous part of the property, requiring the tenant to pay the rent within one month. If the rent is not paid within that time, the landlord shall be entitled to possession of the property, and may enter thereon, and the right of the tenant to the leased property shall end. The landlord may recover the rent owed up to the time when he or she became entitled to possession.

    ARTICLE 6. LANDLORD AND TENANT.
    §37-6-7. Reletting by landlord.
    The landlord, or other person entitled to the rent may, however, at his election, incorporate, in the notice provided for in the preceding section, the further notice that he will, after he shall have taken possession of the demised premises, lease the premises to some other person, in which case the tenant will still remain liable upon his lease, for the unexpired portion of his term, for the difference between the amount of rent received by the landlord from the new tenant, and the amount payable under the lease of the original tenant, and upon any other covenants or agreements contained in the original lease.
    http://law.justia.com/codes/west-vir...er37/article6/

    That tells me that you might get your deposit back but you will probably have to wait at least 3 months or until it's rerented after the current tenants move out.

    Unfortunately for you, it also tells me that the landlord has no obligation to rerent that unit after the current tenants move out and he can leave it empty and hold you responsible for the entire lease, sue you for it, and probably win.

    You picked the wrong state to renege in. Most other states require the landlord to mitigate his damages by rerenting as soon as reasonably possible. WV apparently does not.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Breaking Lease Before Start of Tenancy

    I'll agree with adjusterjack in part and disagree in part. The statutes he found do not relate to your situation. They provide a non-judicial mechanism by which a landlord may recover premises from a tenant who stops paying rent then abandons the rental unit. But the gist is largely the same - the landlord has a duty to mitigate his damages by seeking another tenant, and the tenant can be liable for 'cover' (the difference between the rate of rent they agreed to pay and the rate paid by the replacement tenant) if the landlord is not reasonably able to locate a tenant who will pay the same (or more) rent.

    If the landlord has multiple units in an apartment complex, he can put your unit at the absolute bottom of the heap and fill every other unit first. He does not have to prioritize renting your unit. Also, it's possible that he won't find a replacement tenant by the time your lease starts, or at all, and may try to claim rent. Also... you need to read the documents you signed, as you may have agreed that your deposit was some form of non-refundable holding deposit.

    Often a landlord in this type of situation will negotiate - you agree to forfeit part or all of your deposit and they agree to release you. If you choose not to negotiate, you're rolling the dice - the future is not certain.

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