Q: Do I have to sign a termination agreement on my current lease if my roommate decides not to renew but I do?
I still have 4 months left in my current lease and I informed my property manager (PM) I would be renewing, as I found the apartment to begin with and had specified when I signed my lease I would stay there all three years. My roommate, without informing me, told the property manager she would not be renewing. Both of our names are on the lease, so the property manager said our lease terminates at the end of the term. Nowhere in my lease does it mention that a termination agreement needs to be signed. Additionally, the PM attempted to show our apartment to potential tenants after only two months into our lease. Further, someone else associated with the management company showed our apartment without our permission and without notice while we were not home. The PM claimed it was an accident. Once my roommate informed the PM of the non-renewal, she repeatedly asked to begin showing my apartment now despite there being 4 months left in my lease.
A: Either tenant has the right to remain in the Premises until the end of the Lease's Term, even of one co-tenant gives notice of an early termination. I suspect the lease states that both tenants are jointly and severally liable for the payment of rent until the end of the Lease's Term. You need to provide written notice to the PM that you do not intend to terminate the Premises until the end of the Lease's Term, and keep a copy for your records. Any showing of the Premises without advanced written notice (mistake or no mistake) by the PM and approval by the Tenant(s) is a violation of the lease. You can sue for a breach of the lease.
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