Any experience with lease breaking?

Submitted by inhalent-abuse t3_z38g2x in newhampshire

Hey folks. I've lived in the granite state for the better part of three years now & have been under a lease with the same private renter in my apartment building the whole time. The guy has been a great landlord and is very fair with me, however with the rising cost of living my rent payments and bills have increased significantly this last year and it has become to much to handle. I'm just getting back to work after a 2 month layoff and I'm struggling so badly to keep my bills paid that I have not been able to buy myself groceries for the entire month (I'm living on an old bag of white rice and various seasoning salts lol). My lease is up in May of 2023 (in 5 months) and I need to get out of this place immediately if I want to survive.

So my question is - has anybody been in a similar situation? Are there any things I should know before I call up the landlord and try to come to an agreement? Any experience you could lend would help me immensely. I know that there's no legal penalty for breaking a lease in NH but I'm sure there's a fee written somewhere in my contract (digital contract, page 404'd). Thanks for your time.

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Inariele t1_ixmp8ky wrote

before you break your lease, try talking to your landlord. Also, keep in mind, it is extremely difficult to get an apartment right now and worst case scenario you are on the street during the winter.

Regarding food, don't be shy to go to a food bank:

Here is a list sorted by cities:

https://www.foodpantries.org/st/new_hampshire

also, all CAP agencies have food pantries.

Apply for FAP-EAP pick the the CAP agency of your county. EAP gives you a percentage-based reduction of the electric bill.

https://www.capnh.org/cap-lookup

And let your taxes actually work for you: apply for everything and see if anything sticks. Specifically you want EBT, SNAP

https://nheasy.nh.gov/#/

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inhalent-abuse OP t1_ixmlhaj wrote

I can't thank you folks enough for the overwhelming response and support. All of you have made navigating through this much much easier for me. As for all of you offering to feed me, my heart is full to the brim. I have been looking into food banks and alternatives to get by for the month. You are all incredible and I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. <3

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GeneralyAnnoyed5050 t1_ixko9p0 wrote

  1. Talk to your landlord. They could probably find a new renter immediately in this market. They may work with you.

  2. Go to the food bank and get something besides rice.

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Maldonian t1_ixkvz1f wrote

The factual answer is, read your lease. I remember reading a friend’s lease, and the penalty for leaving early was two months’ rent.

More practical answer, as said above, discuss it with the landlord, and offer to help find a new tenant. In today’s market, landlord might even be happy to be able to rent out to someone new at a higher rate.

Congratulations on your new employment, and I hope your situation gets better.

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ElisabetSobeckPhD t1_ixlu46b wrote

I'd just talk to the landlord.

My lease has a clause that if you lose your job you can get out of the lease. If you think about it, if you need certain amount of income to get in, but now you don't have the income, how are they gonna expect you to pay.

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roundeye2020 t1_ixkptxd wrote

Look at the contract, in many situations you lose the security deposit. Hit the food bank up and don't shame yourself. These are hard times for a lot of people, and you are not alone.

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no0bslayer9 t1_ixkt1ci wrote

Same as the others but man, talk with the landlord first, and yeah, food bank, or hit me up and we’ll help ya eat something besides rice

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akmjolnir t1_ixma6i1 wrote

Yep, did it 2x... Buckle up:

1st-time: apartment had moisture ingress issues along the exterior ceiling, and management was trying to blame us for steaming up the apt. with too-hot showers, too much stove-top cooking... All sorts of dipshit excuses. The ceiling sheetrock was so wet & soft I could push my fingers into it.

We called the city building inspector, and they said they weren't allowed to cut holes in walls to investigate, but if there was already a hole they would have no problem coming over and checking the ceiling/frame/roof.

We asked the management/maintenance dopes to cut a hole - at our expense - to check for mold, and so they did, and stuck a moisture meter up in the roof. They said it was bone dry.

At the very moment, the city building inspector showed up (how convenient!) and jammed his arm up into the ceiling to investigate. He pulled out a handful of water-logged insulation, and after two minutes of it inspecting, he discovered a list of building code violations.

The complex was already under a state mandate to replace all furnaces due to CO leaks (four times while we were there...fun), mold repairs along entire exterior/interior walls, and shoddy building codes.

Fuck you Stone Farm in Lebanon, NH.

2nd-time: Moved into a rental house in West Lebanon that had just come onto the market. It was a pre-1980s but, renovated to NH code, and came with the regular lead paint warnings.

It looked good for a week, but the new paint began to crack and chip all around the house, and you could see the vibrant blue base layers popping out. Fuck that.

Called to complain to the home-owner, and they made up some low-effort excuse about how they provided the bare minimum of lead paint mitigation, blah blah blah.

They could have been cool about it, but the wife/GF of the owner was an argumentative hag, so under threat of calling in the state inspector we packed up, and left. They tried to threaten to keep money and sue, but we knew they were full of shit.

TL;DR : find a legitimate code violation, if possible.

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NeuroticMindfullness t1_ixo05e2 wrote

While I'm proud of you for making your situation work.... Please reach out to us/others. This is the season of thanks and giving and I'm sure more people would be willing to help you with food instead of donating to some large charity.

We are here for you ❤️

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ForklkftJones t1_ixlnul4 wrote

I can't help with the lease issue, but I can help with groceries.If you're interested, let me know. Good luck to you. 🤎👍🏾

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NewHampshireAngle t1_ixku07d wrote

Offer to find a replacement tenant. I’ve done this.

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59000beans t1_ixm5dhu wrote

Don't sacrifice your health, we have a lot of food pantry resources that are here to help support those who need it during difficult times. They're here to help provide these resources, and happy to do so, many are community led with donations helping support it. Please locate your local pantry and take care of getting nutrients your body needs, as rice can only provide so much. You don't want to risk your health.

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vroomvroomshabang t1_ixmkel9 wrote

i broke a lease back in the day when i couldn’t find a sub-letter. the landlord sued me like two/three years later for all the rent i still owed. be prepared for that.

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Rixtertech t1_ixl8vk1 wrote

You may find this useful. Remember that it is one thing to have the law on your side... it is wholly another to get a NH judge to side for the tenant against the interests of a landlord. We have no protection and few rights in a state where the landlords are a powerful lobby supporting republican interests.

(Note: I am not a Lawyer. And someone who claims this statute doesn't apply to you may not be one either, or may not have your interests at heart.. A first consultation with a legal professional is free. You may want to try that, or you may want to contact Legal Aid and/or try googling for tenant advocacy groups. For more free entertainment perusing NH Statutes, browse to https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-LV.htm where you will see many of the laws benefitting landlords and very few in defense of tenants. You may also want to keep in mind the following as you study up - Section 540:28:
540:28 Lease Provisions. – No lease or rental agreement, oral or written, shall contain any provision by which a tenant waives any of his rights under this chapter, and any such waiver shall be null and void.
Source. 1985, 244:9, eff. Aug. 6, 1985 )

https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/LV/540/540-11.htm

(OP, see See Section I.)

TITLE LV

PROCEEDINGS IN SPECIAL CASES

CHAPTER 540

ACTIONS AGAINST TENANTS

Section 540:11

540:11 Termination by Lessee. –

I. A lessee may terminate his or her lease by notice in writing, in the same manner as the lessor, and the notice shall have the same effect for all purposes as a notice by the lessor to the lessee.

II. A tenancy at will, from month to month, may be terminated by the lessee upon 30 days notice; provided that if the date of termination given in the notice does not coincide with the rent due date, the lessee is responsible for the rent for the entire month in which the notice expires, up to the next rent due date, unless the terms of the lease provide otherwise.

Source. RS 209:6. CS 222:6. GS 231:6. GL 250:6. PS 246:6. PL 357:11. RL 413:11. 2018, 18:1, eff. July 14, 2018.

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JackWWalsh t1_ixoso96 wrote

Your town hall has a welfare officer who might be able to connect you with, or directly provide, some help.

It's cheaper for everyone - you, landlord, welfare system - to keep you in the place you have.

Don't be bashful or ashamed, everyone runs into rough patches. Good luck.

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gOrDoNhAsNtPlAyEdIn3 t1_ixplqas wrote

Considering the housing market I imagine your landlord wouldn't have too much of an issue with it, hopefully.

Definitely have your ducks in a row before you call them since it will be a little last-minute and hope for the best.

Ideally the best way to get out of a lease early is to call them a couple months ahead of time to give them time to get a new tenant lined up, otherwise you may risk losing the deposit.

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PoorInCT t1_iy2d61b wrote

Worst case you may have to pay while it is unrented.

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boarderline5152 t1_iy5temo wrote

I'm sorry to hear about your situation as I'm in the exact situation you are only I'm living in CA. My rent went up 200$ last year and 231$ this year and we're dying to break our lease but it's going to be hard to get first,last and deposit. Rent is out of control everywhere it seems. I wish I had info for you but I'm curious as to what other redditors have to say also.

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