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Breaking lease early - Landlord Forum thread 328598

Breaking lease early by Mikey (MI) on December 11, 2014 @13:13

                              
I have a friend who is breaking the lease early to purchase a home. That friend found a new tenant on his own and new tenant signed a lease with his current LL. Gap of not receiving a rent for the LL would be about 2 weeks. My friend left a place in good condition and the new tenant would move right in after he moves out. Later, LL said she is fed up with my friend's action and she wants what was stated in the contract. Penalty for early lease break is 2 months of rent plus surrender of entire security deposit (another 2 months worth). My friend is stressed out that he will loose 4 months rent because he is breaking the lease. However, because he found a tenant in his place, he is willing to pay just 1 month rent penalty. He is worried that LL will take him to the court. Will my friend has to pay the entire penalty amount? or is LL bullying him? I am a landlord myself and this seems excessive, when he found a new tenant as his replacement. thank you.
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Re: Breaking lease early by Bill on December 11, 2014 @14:28 [ Reply ]
The maximum the landlord could receive in a court action is two weeks rent. Tell your friend to pay the two weeks and forget about it...totally.

Look for the deposit to take a haircut on the way out. If the place is left clean and the deposit is not refunded in full, post here again.
Re: Breaking lease early by Mikey (MI) on December 11, 2014 @14:36 [ Reply ]
Thanks, Bill. I will tell him. That seems more in-line as a penalty. I told him, if worst comes, you will have a day in the court.
Re: Breaking lease early by Joel on December 11, 2014 @18:29 [ Reply ]
It depends on what the lease says.
Early termination is still a lease violation and what if the landlord had to take a lower rent to avoid a long vacancy at this time of year?

The landlord may not collect double rents, but the security deposit IS NOT RENT. It is for damages financial and material. (and emotional) Only kidding about the emotional.
Re: Breaking lease early by MrDan (Georgia) on December 12, 2014 @05:38 [ Reply ]
A little research found the following;

In Michigan, a landlord cannot charge more than one and a half (1½) times your monthly rent for a security deposit.
The use of security deposits is governed by Michigan P.A. 348,1972. Your lease cannot waive any of your rights under the Security Deposit Act. A security deposit has a specific purpose: to reimburse the landlord for damage to the rental unit, unpaid rent, or unpaid utility bills left by the tenant.


Early Termination Fees
Some leases have clauses requiring that the tenant pay a certain amount of money for terminating the lease early. If this fee is higher than what re-rental would actually cost the landlord, consider refusing to pay it. For example, three months’ rent is probably not reasonable. If the amount is reasonable, you may opt to pay it so as to walk away from the deal without any worries. In any case, you should put any agreement you reach with the landlord in writing.

http://www.michiganlegalaid.org/library_client/housing/your_security_deposit_is_your_money_until_the_landlord_proves_otherwise/html_view

Clauses that purport to waive any rights granted to parties under the Landlord‐Tenant Relationship Act (LTRA), MCL 554.601 et seq., are prohibited and void. MCL 554.633(1)(b).

Michigan has a history of being fairly strict about early termination fees — if the fee written into landlords contract is greater than what it would reasonably cost for the landlord to acquire a new tenant, the courts are likely to force the landlord to waive it.

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