What are the penalties for breaking an auto lease?

Answer 1

Most auto lease agreements have a chart showing the number of months/payments remaining and the "fee" for breaking the lease. Sometimes it is a number times the monthly lease payment amount. Like, 1 year remaining on a 4 year lease may be 7 times the payment or something like that for penalty.

Answer 2

There are numerous ways this can go, dependent upon the state in which you live. In most cases, the landlord will have the legal right to take you to court for the remaining months rent left on your lease. They can also release you from all liability in writing; however, this doesn't usually happen.

Make sure to always read your lease before signing- as there could be clauses included that state what will happen for breaking/breaching your lease. For instance, if your lease term expires at the end of Nov., and you move out on the last day of Sept., you could be held liable for Oct. and Nov. rent, in addition to any court costs and mutual attorney fees in small claims court.

Many states also have statutes in place that say the landlord has to make a good faith effort in trying to re-rent the property(such as listing it in the local papers or Craigslist), also known as mitigation. Should you be taken to court, youare solely responsible for proving your landlord was notmitigating. This means you must take notes on any actions your landlord may or may not be doing. You should keep local newspaper classifieds rental sections for evidence that the landlord hasn't listed your apt/house, as well as screen shots from craigslist or other rental websites for proof. The landlord doesn't necessarily have to show your place first; however, they can't purposely steer a potential re-renter from seeing your place. This may be hard to prove in court unless you have a trusted friend(s) call your landlord for a showing of your place to see if they actually show your place, or make it sound as if they really don't want to rent it out and show a different place.

Also be on the lookout for retaliatory actions your landlord may do to you as a result of you giving your notice to vacate early, such as turning utilities off, coming by unannounced or unlawful entry. Should things escalate and get nasty, call up your local legal aid office for counsel, and have all of your evidence and lease handy. Read up on your state's landlord-tenant laws too.

I'm going through a similar situation- though my landlord isn't re-renting, she put the property up for sale on MLS and has yet to show that she is mitigating in terms re-renting. I have a year left on my lease, which could lead to over $15k of rent that she may try to collect via the courts, unless I can prove otherwise.

Best of luck in your decision!