Q: The agency asked for a 1-y renewal 9m ahead. Can I cancel the contract, 2.5m ahead of the new lease starting date
I have been a tenant for 2 years in this house. I was not planning to buy a house soon, so I agreed to renew my lease when the agency asked for signing a renewal in Nov 2018. Meanwhile, an opportunity arose to buy a house and I promptly gave notice to the agency that I was planning to leave by July 15th. The new lease will only start July 25, 2019, so I'm still on my old lease. How early can agencies ask for renewal contracts? are they allowed to give you only one month to decide before increasing rent or advertise the unit?
After giving notice and asking for the early termination of my contract, I received a release agreement, saying that I would be responsible for all rental and utilities until the find a new tenant. I consulted my lease which only talks about subletting or early termination. I don't want to sign a new release contract.
A: If the new lease you signed in November does not start until July 25, signing the release agreement NOW will give the landlord almost 3 months to find a new tenant. The case law requires all landlords to make a reasonable effort to locate a new tenant in order to "mitigate" their "losses." If they do not, you will have that as a possible defense.
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