Early Lease Termination & Lease Wording
A friend of mine is trying to get out of
her 14 month lease early. While
there is no provision under a heading
like ”Early Termination”, the wording
in another section has me wondering
if perhaps there’s a loophole allowing
her to terminate the lease:
Renewal Term: 6. It is the intent of
both parties that this lease is for a
period of 14 months. Should this
lease be breached by the Resident,
both the last month’s and the
indemnification deposit shall be
forfeited as liquidated damages and
the Resident will owe rent through
the last day of occupancy.
The word that has me wondering
here is ”occupancy.” If she breaches
the contract by moving out, but pays
the landlord the last month’s rent,
can she get out of the lease without
paying the remainder of the rent on
the lease?
Re: Early Lease Termination & Lease Wording
Interesting question.
Generally under NY law the Courts give credit to the word’s exact meaning. Occupancy is defined under Black’s Law Dictionary as “Taking possession of property and use of the same.” If someone is intentionally delivering keys to the landlord and abandoning the premises, she is no longer an occupant.
Therefore, based on your question, and without reading the entire lease, Your friend would only owe rent through the date of her possession of the premises, and would owe last month’s rent and the deposit if she would breach the lease agreement.
Mike.
Michael Markowitz
Michael A. Markowitz, PC
1553 Broadway
Hewlett, NY 11557