yes...another lease break question

we can no longer afford out rent at the house we are living in, a lady has rented out a home so us. i've talked to the landlord and we've tried to work something out with getting other renters in but she keeps changing her verbal agreements and we can not agree to them. reading through our lease i see these two statements...they have me wondering if i can break my lease without being responsible for rent until the lease is fullfilled.

"RENT:the tenant shall pay rent for the term to commence on Dec 1 2008 and end on Dec 1 2010 unless sooner terminated as herinafter provided, the tenant paying rent to the landlord in the sum of $X per month until term met."

then there is this...

"ABANDONMENT:the parties agree that nay of the following acts will constitute common-law abandonment, and entitle the landlord to take immediate possession or take steps to commence an eviction action:
1-absence from the dwelling unit for 7 days
2-termination of any utility service
3-the establishment of another residence (signed lease or purchase agreement)"

(by the way we live in nebraska) we have an apartment on hold right now and can move in tomorrow if we wish. if we sign a lease with them that will obviously break our lease. but i do not know if we'll still be responsible for rent until our lease is up. thanks.

MISPELL....the part that says 'NAY' under the abandonment is incorrect. it should say

"the parties agree that ANY of the following acts..."

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by Unregistered we can no longer afford out rent at the house we are living in, a lady has rented out a home so us. i've talked to the landlord and we've tried to work something out with getting other renters in but she keeps changing her verbal agreements and we can not agree to them. reading through our lease i see these two statements...they have me wondering if i can break my lease without being responsible for rent until the lease is fullfilled. "RENT:the tenant shall pay rent for the term to commence on Dec 1 2008 and end on Dec 1 2010 unless sooner terminated as herinafter provided, the tenant paying rent to the landlord in the sum of $X per month until term met." then there is this... "ABANDONMENT:the parties agree that nay of the following acts will constitute common-law abandonment, and entitle the landlord to take immediate possession or take steps to commence an eviction action: 1-absence from the dwelling unit for 7 days 2-termination of any utility service 3-the establishment of another residence (signed lease or purchase agreement)" (by the way we live in nebraska) we have an apartment on hold right now and can move in tomorrow if we wish. if we sign a lease with them that will obviously break our lease. but i do not know if we'll still be responsible for rent until our lease is up. thanks.

If you choose to break your lease, you are responsible for payment of rent for the remaining term of your lease, or until the LL finds a new tenant to replace you.

The RENT clause just says you agree to be responsible for payment of the rent until the end of the lease term.

The ABANDONMENT clause gives conditions that mean you have abandoned the property and under which the LL can retake possession of the rental property.

Neither of the clauses you provided give you an excuse to get out of the lease w/o penalty. If you decide to break your lease and move into the new apt, instead of saving money, you'll be financially responsible for TWO rentals.

By the way, "if it ain't in writing, it never happened". Don't make verbal agreements with the LL, make sure that any agreeements you make are in writing & signed by all parties. That will be your only evidence that such an agreement exists, and the LL wouldn't be able to deny its existence.

and what if the landlord had put the house up for sale? she is requiring me to keep the house a certain way and be able to show it at the drop of a hat. i've complied because if she sells it then our lease is up....but two people have looked at the house the whole month its been on the market. yet she says i'm still required to keep the house 'show worthy' (two kids and pregnant is a little hard). the only thing in the lease about selling the house is a term she handwrote in saying

"may-june of 2010 will be the determination date of tenant to a)sign an additional lease b)purchase home by dec 1 2010 C)rent-to-own agreement d)allow landlord to list property for sale a vacate within 30 days if home is sold regardless of the date dec 1 reached (6 month listing period)."

The house being for sale doesn't matter. While you can require that she give you the proper prior notice to enter (usually 24 hours), you cannot stop viewings by prospective buyers. You do need to keep the house in clean condition, regardless of your children or pregnancy.

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by Unregistered and what if the landlord had put the house up for sale? she is requiring me to keep the house a certain way and be able to show it at the drop of a hat. i've complied because if she sells it then our lease is up....but two people have looked at the house the whole month its been on the market. yet she says i'm still required to keep the house 'show worthy' (two kids and pregnant is a little hard). the only thing in the lease about selling the house is a term she handwrote in saying "may-june of 2010 will be the determination date of tenant to a)sign an additional lease b)purchase home by dec 1 2010 C)rent-to-own agreement d)allow landlord to list property for sale a vacate within 30 days if home is sold regardless of the date dec 1 reached (6 month listing period)."

Actually, if she sells the property, the lease would be transferred to the new owner, and they would be required to honor it until the term ends.

If/when she does list it, you do have the right to reasonable notice before she brings prospective tenants onto the property to view it. Considering your family situation, the LL cannot expect to just show up without notice and have the house clean & perfect every time. That is presumably the reason behind the notice - to give you sufficient time to straighten up, to plan to be there while the showing occurs, to have the kids taken care of so they don't interfere, etc. No notice, then the LL gets what they get (if you allow her in to show it, which you don't always have to w/o notice). Of course, you are required to keep the home in a sanitary manner anyway, but that can be a subjective definition when you have kids.

Again, you still have no grounds to break that lease w/o penalty.