Allgemein

Legal Reasons to Break a Lease in Texas

There are many other reasons to break a lease: buy a house, move for a job, or even go through a breakup. However, none of this is covered by the law. Instead, you`ll need to review your lease. Breaking a lease can be expensive, but the state of Texas doesn`t allow landlords to impose a specific penalty. Your sole responsibility is the owner`s costs. If the landlord rents the unit again, you may not have to pay a lot of rent, but you will still have to pay all the unexpected costs associated with the transition. Texas law allows landlords to charge tenants for the costs of filling a vacancy if a tenant terminates a lease without a valid reason. These costs cover the marketing and qualification of new tenants. Total fees vary depending on the situation, and most leases include clauses designed to clarify these details.

Texas tenants have rights under the state`s landlord-tenant law. First of all, you can`t just force them to move; They must have a legal reason, for example. B if they have violated the terms of the lease. Nevertheless, it may be possible to exit your lease prematurely. To terminate the lease in Texas, the tenant would have to do several things. First, they should provide you with proof that they signed the lease before entering active service. So what should you do if your tenant breaks the lease? In general, the flat rule is to hold the tenant responsible for all rents remaining in the lease. However, this may not always be true in all situations. If a tenant or resident is the survivor of domestic violence within the meaning of Section 71.004 of the Texas Family Code, they may terminate their lease earlier and without liability by submitting domestic violence documents and 30 days` written notice to the landlord. You will then have to leave the rental. For more details on the requirements that must be protected under this law, please refer to Section 92.016 of the Texas Property Code.

If the landlord sells, dies or transfers the property, the new landlord is required to comply with your lease and any other agreements you have with the original owner or management. This is another reason to always have important agreements in writing, signed and dated. Relocation costs – Relocation refers to the owner`s requirement to re-lease your space. Legally, a landlord can charge a redemption fee to offset all costs associated with advertising and preparing the place for rental. While rent withholding is illegal in Texas, tenants have the right to „repair and trigger“ if a landlord doesn`t take care of the major repairs. There are also laws that protect the landlord that you need to know if you have broken your lease or need to move prematurely. If the landlord in Texas clearly had a reasonable amount of time to repair the condition (usually seven days) and didn`t make a thorough effort to resolve the issue, and you properly followed the procedures to notify the landlord, you might be able to terminate the lease and move. There are many ways to break a lease. The Texas Association of Realtors standard lease is 14 pages filled with rules and regulations. But some terms are broken more regularly than others, often because tenants don`t even realize they`re doing something wrong. A service member or dependency of a service member who is on duty for 90 days or more or who receives orders for a permanent station change may terminate their lease early pursuant to Section 92.017 of the Texas Property Code.

Someone who signs a lease and then enters military service may also terminate their lease prematurely under this law. The soldier must notify the landlord in writing and document his or her military orders. The effective date of termination varies depending on the circumstances, so please read the section for more details. To access the rented premises, landlords must first notify their tenants in advance. Some states define the amount of notice that landlords must give to their tenants. However, Texas doesn`t give the exact notice that landlords should give their tenant, so include it in your lease. If you decide to terminate the lease, you must inform the landlord in your second written notice that you will terminate the lease unless the condition is repaired or corrected within a reasonable period of time (which should be seven days). Remember that you only have the right to terminate if the condition materially affects the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant, if you have terminated correctly and if you are not in arrears in paying your rent. Most written leases have a fixed term. Although the most common lease is 12 months, a lease can be valid for any duration. Students often sign leases for 9 months and move for the summer.

Some leases are monthly and renew automatically. Ultimately, the length will be what you and the owner agree on. First of all, if the lease says what is going to happen, it controls. For example, many leases indicate that they are automatically renewed from month to month, unless the tenant or landlord decides otherwise. If your situation is not covered by the law or your lease, you will need to talk to your landlord. Let them be clear that the situation is out of your control. Even better if you can back up your story with hard evidence, such as . B a letter from an employer or a medical certificate attesting that your parents are seriously ill. Do you need to move to Texas? Whatever your rental situation, Square Cow Movers can help you move quickly. Call us to plan a move or packing service. If a tenant wishes to move earlier and terminate their lease for a reason other than that listed in the „Legal Termination of a Lease“ field below, they will continue to owe the landlord rent under the lease until a new tenant can be found.

Texas law gives the landlord or tenant the express right to terminate a lease prematurely in certain very specific circumstances: landlords must go through a certain eviction process before the tenant has to move. Here`s a brief overview of the process if the tenant broke the lease: Under Section 91.001 of the Texas Property Code, a monthly lease can be terminated by the tenant or landlord. Once they`ve notified the other party, the tenancy ends with one of the following: You can also approach the negotiations from a different angle: Could your rent break actually benefit your landlord in any way? For example, do homes near you now rent out even more than you currently pay? You`ll probably be more successful if you rent from a private owner rather than a large management company with less flexibility. However, unjustified rent interruptions mean that your tenant can be held financially responsible for the loss of rental income and the price to pay to find another tenant. Harassment of owners is illegal in the state of Texas. Landlord harassment is aimed at forcing a tenant to leave their rented home by creating unpleasant situations. .